Alcatraz Prison on San Francisco Bay is surrounded by frigid waters and razor-sharp rocks, making it America's most unmissable prison . In 1775, Spanish explorer Juan Manuel De Ayla named the small island La Isla De Los Alcatraces. This translates to “Pelican Island” (welcome to Alcatraz). This island is a twelve-acre rock in San Francisco Bay, the largest natural harbor in the world (Fuller,8). Because Alcatraz is surrounded by icy waters and dangerous currents, it was soon considered an ideal place to hold prisoners (Welcome to Alcatraz). “The Rock” first opened as a federal prison in 1934 (Alcatraz Prison). The first director of Alcatraz was James A. Johnston, he started on July 1, 1934 (Fuller, 12 years old). On the island, of course there were many rules to respect. First, no visitors were accepted during the first three months of living on the island (Welcome to Alcatraz). Enforcing the no-talking rule was part of their psychological punishment. Prisoners were locked in their cells for more than half the day, fourteen hours a day (Oliver, 53). Hygiene was very strict. Each inmate had to shave three times a week (Fuller, 11 years old). No prisoner was allowed to visit his cell during the day. The inmates also worked as servants for the families who lived on the island (Welcome to Alcatraz). These prisoners enjoyed excellent cuisine (Welcome to Alcatraz). They were able to get as much of what they wanted, but no food could be thrown away. If you wasted your food, you were not allowed to have the next meal (Welcome to Alcatraz). If prisoners broke these rules, some of their punishments were that they had to carry a ball and chain, they would have to perform manual labor and go... middle of paper ... everything at Alcatraz had to be imported , food, clothing, prisoners and other goods were very expensive. It cost me twenty-six thousand dollars, the inevitable Alcatraz prison (Oliver, 53 years old). As they exported all the prisoners from Alcatraz and sent them to other prisons, they wondered what to do with the island (Presnall, 93). Years passed and different suggestions emerged as to what America should use the island for. Some thought it should be used for a nudist colony, others thought it should be a Statue of Liberty for the Western United States, or perhaps a park for the American space program (Presnall, 93). But all were rejected by the government (Presnall, 43). In 1973, Alcatraz Island was opened to the public as a tourist attraction (Alcatraz Prison). Today, more than a million people come to San Francisco Bay to visit this so-called haunted island ( Alcatraz Prison).