Industrial units in operation on the island include a glove factory, rubber mat shop, clothing factory, a brush shop, and a furniture factory. The shops and factories perform contract services for the armed forces. The Alcatraz branch of Prison Industries has been awarded numerous commendations for its contribution to national defense during World War II and the fighting in Korea.

Prisoners are not forced to participate in the industrial program at Alcatraz. However, all prisoners in work status are required to work on assigned tasks. A large percentage prefer assignments in industries and usually volunteer immediately after arriving at the institution. Other than the therapeutic value offered by gainful employment in prison, the inmates are zealous to earn the wages paid and make regular contributions to their dependants or accumulate savings for use following release.

Inmates employed in the Prison Industries were also compensated by having time deducted from their sentences. The accrual rate was minimal. On average, each inmate would be awarded two days off his sentence per month. Johnston introduced a work-for-pay program that incorporated four grade levels of compensation based on trade skills. Monetary wages generally ranged from five to twelve cents per hour. By the time of the prison’s closure in 1963, the top grade rate was over thirty cents per hour.

The prison at Alcatraz was kept spotlessly clean. Even the correctional staff maintained the areas that were not accessible to inmates, with exceptional pride. Cliff Fish remembers working a shift in the East Gun Gallery and finding a small graffiti message written with a laundry marker on the second-tier wall. Correctional Officer Freeman Pepper wished to communicate his frustration with someone who had dropped a sticky substance on the gallery floor and he wrote the following message:

I’ve labored long, and labored hard, to make myself some riches. But I'll gladly pay good money, to the guy that will snitch on the son-of-a-bitch, who smeared my floor with honey.

The regulations at Alcatraz decreed: “There is no commissary at Alcatraz... The institution supplies all your needs. ”  From the beginning this rule created conflict between the administration and working inmates, especially for the prisoners serving long sentences, who had little interest in building savings accounts. Alcatraz was the only prison within the federal system that did not allow the purchase of special toiletries, candy or even filtered cigarettes. The administration controlled purchases by inmates, which were limited to authorized magazine subscriptions, musical instruments, and only a handful of other articles.

The Prison Hospital

The Prison Hospital at Alcatraz.

The X-Ray suite. Many inmates trained to become X-Ray technicians, and found successful employment following their release. 

The Operating Room as it appeared in 1956.

The “Bug Room.”   Note the ubiquitous tile surface, even on the door. The barred door resembling a cell is actually the entrance to the hospital shower.

The hospital ward at Alcatraz was located at the west end of the prison on the second floor, directly above the Mess Hall. The Hospital was accessed via a stairwell leading from inside the Mess Hall entrance and was completely isolated from the rest of the prison. A Bureau of Prisons bulletin described the medical facilities at Alcatraz in further detail:

The U.S. Public Health Service provides medical faculties and staff for Alcatraz, as well as for other federal penitentiaries and correctional institutions. The Alcatraz Hospital, adjacent to the main cell house, is equipped with modern x-ray and physical therapy apparatus, operating theater, laboratories, and dental unit, and contains wards and individual rooms for the treatment and convalescence of inmate patients. It has been certified by the American College of Surgeons and compares favorably with the up-to-date hospitals and clinics in the free community.

The medical staff includes a chief medical officer and highly trained technicians, all career personnel of the Public Health Service. Specialists from the Marine Hospital in San Francisco also are available for consultation and to augment the permanent local staff. Three San Francisco Physiatrists are employed to counsel and treat Alcatraz inmates and they visit the island frequently in the performance of their duties. Inmates whose mental disorders indicate psychotic trends or continuing deterioration are transferred to the Medical Center at Springfield, Missouri.

There were also two designated isolation cells that were known by inmates as the “Bug Rooms” were constructed in the later years of the penitentiary. These small rooms for special confinement only measured approximately 8’ x 8’ x 10’. The interior surfaces were completely covered with ceramic tiles that were pinkish in color. The door was also covered with a matching tile surface and light entered through fogged translucent glass tiles that were smoothly set into the walls. One of these rooms was equipped with only a hole in the floor for the inmate to relieve himself. There was a small clear glass pane that would allow observation of the patient, and a small rectangle portal that was used to pass in food and medicine. The two cells were only used in the most of extreme cases of mental instability.

Sick call took place after the noon meal each day. Former correctional officer Frank Heaney would indicate in his book Inside the Walls of Alcatraz that an estimated ten percent of the inmate population showed up every day in the sick line. Many exaggerated their illnesses in efforts to break the monotony, or asked for sleeping medications to help them deal with the stresses of confinement.

Alcatraz in War Time (1942 – 1945)

World War II Soldiers from the 216th Coast Artillery Regiment manning a 40mm anti-aircraft gun positioned on top of the family apartments.

During World War II, Alcatraz became a prominent contributor to the war effort. This was the one period during which the inmates and administration stood together. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, the Mat Shop was quickly converted into a cargo net factory. The netting manufactured in the Industries would be used to protect the harbor from submarine attacks. The inmates would also be responsible for the maintaining the marine buoys that held the nets, and making field jackets for field soldiers. Former inmate Jim Quillen recalled when he first entered the recreation yard in 1942, the sight of inmates cheering from the bleachers as Naval ships passed the island with sailors lining the decks. The inmates’ work was inspired, and they took great pride in their contribution.

As a result of the prison’s contribution to the war industries, Alcatraz also became an enemy target. Fears of a Japanese attack became pronounced among the citizens of San Francisco and Alcatraz would renew her role as a military fortress. Like their Civil War predecessors, the military strategists of the day recognized the strategic position of Alcatraz. The Military positioned three 40-mm anti-aircraft guns atop the main cellhouse and apartment building structures. Air-raid drills were performed for both inmates and island residents. Captain of the Guards, Phil Bergen, assumed the role of Air Raid Warden in addition to his normal duties. During drills, a special siren would be sounded and Alcatraz would go into blackout mode. Every light was required to be doused in efforts to reduce the chances of being bombed by enemy aircraft, though the lighthouse shutdown would only be simulated. The inmates were trained to take cover beneath their cell bunks while under attack, but it became obvious that this would offer them only minimal protection. The island residents were required to retreat into shelters located in Building #64, and Phil Bergen would be tasked with inspecting the island dwellings to insure that everyone complied with the blackout regulations.