The symbol of America?s dark side is Alcatraz. But this former military prison and dreaded high security federal penitentiary in California for 104 years also demonstrates the ultimate success of marketing action, that even this ?Devil?s Island? of despair can be made into a most sought after tourist location.
Walking down San Francisco wharf is very enjoyable. There?s the famous organic food farmer?s market, restaurants offering fresh sea food, curio stores and you can see sea lions up close slide and growl with different gestures. The misty distance has small islands and a mysterious big ship-like rock that?s Alcatraz, which has inspired apparel outlets here to showcase prison fashion of black-and-white horizontal striped trendy garments for men, women and children. The crowds in Pier 33 alert you to the rush for Alcatraz, a mile and a quarter away, used over time as a fort, a lighthouse and a prison. It?s now a part of the Golden Gate National Park that preserves its buildings, protects its birds and other wildlife and interprets its history. Visitors can go for a cellhouse tour to Alcatraz island.
The US Army first established a fort in Alcatraz in 1853 to protect the Golden Gate from Confederate raiders. It became a military prison from 1859 to 1933. As it was not for maximum security, several escape attempts were successful. Ingenious get-away methods included commandeering boats, using disguise and forged documents, drifting away on logs, smearing grease on the body to protect against the cold sea water and swimming away. But attempts by stealing a butter vat from the bakery or a bread kneading trough to paddle away in were unsuccessful.
When in 1934 the federal government took over Alcatraz, they made it escape-proof to correct dangerous criminals. But 14 escape bids have proved that daring crooks have extreme intelligence, breakaway thinking and will go to any length for freedom. In fact these attempts have stimulated hundreds of novels and Hollywood films such as The Rock, Escape from Alcatraz, The Birdman of Alcatraz and Murder in the First.
You can imagine the frightening plight of the staff?wardens, correctional officers and security guards?who only get standard government training when they have to manage these most dangerous, notorious and recalcitrant inmates. Somehow they too live with the 250 prisoners they had to reign in. It required 90 officers to cover the eight-hour shift. Some of the correctional officers lived on the island with their families but many lived in San Francisco. To discourage escape attempts they even used psychological tactics like revealing to prisoners that dangerous sharks abound, the frigid water was too cold at 58 degree Fahrenheit and the strong current 6 to 8 mph would wash away swimmers. But that still did not stop 36 men from trying to flee to freedom.
The first attempt was very desperate, the prisoner climbed a fence and was shot down. So other inmates realised that real escapes will take real planning. The 10th escape attempt was called the Battle of Alcatraz. For three days, six inmates overpowered the guards, captured weapons and took over the cellhouse, but they could not get the keys to the exterior door. The battle ended with five dead, two guards and three prisoners, and two convicts were later executed. By the 13th escape bid, much more sophistication was used. Dummy heads were made with soap and human hair, left on the bed to befool the guards while three convicts climbed to the roof along a ventilator shaft, entered the water with flotation devices made from raincoats and were never seen again.
On a day-to-day basis Alcatraz was different from other prisons and more expensive. Each inmate had his own cell with a bed, toilet, basin, stool and table. Their clothing and bedding were frequently exchanged and laundered; meals were good and plentiful because officials realised that adequate food was conducive to good behaviour. After 1950s, the well-lit cells were individually equipped with radio headsets that prison officials monitored and edited. From portholes inside, inmates could see San Francisco and hear New Year celebration sounds, which probably inspired their dreams to run away.
?Hellcatraz? for some prisoners, life here was highly regimented, hard and with limited privileges. Pitch dark solitary confinement for the most disobedient public enemies was meant to be for a maximum of 19 days, but rumour has it that it was more. In fact, prisoner Henri Young, part of the fourth escape bid with three others that sawed through window bars, scrambled to the water?s edge but were captured, made Alcatraz infamous when a 26-year-old rookie lawyer called James Martin MacInnis fought his case in court. After his escape bid, Young was allegedly confined to the underground ?dungeon? for a long term. On return, he one day killed a fellow prisoner at the dining hall. His lawyer argued that this murder was not Young?s own doing, but a consequence of the impact the inhuman conditions at Alcatraz. In a landmark judgment, a 12-member jury gave this verdict: ?We found Henri Young guilty of involuntary manslaughter for murder of a fellow prisoner. It is our additional finding that conditions as concern treatment of prisoners at Alcatraz are unbelievably brutal and inhuman and it is our respectful hope and our earnest petition that a proper and speedy investigation of Alcatraz be made so that justice and humanity be served.? Young did not get the death sentence, but was returned to Alcatraz. This case created a very negative public opinion for the prison system.
By the 1960s, US attorney general Robert F Kennedy ordered re-evaluation for Alcatraz. Among other problems like escape bids becoming too powerful, Alcatraz was too expensive to run, needed heavy maintenance expenditure, and a national campaign to rehabilitate inmates was gathering momentum. The prison was closed on March 21, 1963. Since then, fanfare has been built around Alcatraz, the museum. Tourist memorabilia include steel replicas of prisoner cups, prison keys and Alcatraz branded chocolates being sold at high prices.
In tourism parlance, ?dark tourism? refers to holocaust site visits like Nazi gas chambers and other disturbing places to see what the world does not want repeated. But I wonder where else in the world, aside from Alcatraz, such trumpet blasting has been done, so consistently and so successfully, to make a negative image positive, and make tremendous commercial profit from it.
?Shombit Sengupta is an international Creative Business Strategy consultant to top managements. Reach him at http://www.shiningconsulting.com