The Last Day of Alcatraz - March 21, 1963

Adolf Hitler upon his release from Landsberg Prison, December 20, 1924

“Street scene, Old Cairo. Little shops and varied types, south of el-Azhar”, ca.1934

Margaret Bourke-White working atop Chrysler Building, New York City, 1934.

The Last Day of Alcatraz - March 21, 1963

On the morning of March 21, 1963, Alacatraz, the most secure prison and symbol of American justice across the nation closed down for good. The last prisoner off the island, Frank Weatherman, a gun smuggler and jailbreaker, offered an epitaph to the island's 29 years as the toughest federal penitentiary in the country. "Alcatraz was never no good for nobody," he said.

Life Magazine assigned photographer Leigh Wiener to cover closing day at Alcatraz on March 21, 1963. Most of what he shot went unpublished until his son Devik rediscovered the images 45 years later. In 2012, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy published Wiener's photos in a book, Alcatraz: The Last Day.

Warden Blackwell Meets the Press - On March 21, 1963 the last twenty-seven convicts are escorted off Alcatraz Island. News crews were invited to Alcatraz to document the event. Photographer Leigh Wiener was on the island to document the closing for Life Magazine.

West Road Guard Tower - Boats were required to stay at least 200 yards from shore. From the West Road Guard Tower, armed officers would monitor the island’s perimeter. Notice the chipped concrete of the edges of the walkway.

Guard’s Housing - Penitentiary guards and their families lived on Alcatraz Island. With the closing of the prison, staff and families prepared to leave their homes. On the balconies, notice the barrels used to pack the families’ belongings.

Convicts on Broadway - Handcuffed, shackled and chained, convicts are marched out of United States Penitentiary Alcatraz.

Convicts on Broadway - Handcuffed, shackled and chained, convicts are marched out of United States Penitentiary Alcatraz.

Convicts on Broadway - Handcuffed, shackled and chained, convicts are marched out of United States Penitentiary Alcatraz.

Recreation Yard - Weights and other recreation equipment left behind.

Guard - A correctional officer enjoys a peaceful moment on Broadway.

Guard on Broadway - With the prisoners gone from the prison, an officer takes a last quiet walk before leaving the island.

News Crews Capture the Prisoners Every Step

West Road Guard Tower & Golden Gate Bridge - After years of exposure to the elements, the concrete structures were in need of repair to maintain safety and security.

West Guard Tower - The West Guard Tower stands empty for the first time in twenty-nine years.

Guard in D-Block Gun Gallery - A correctional officer poses with his weapon in the D-Block gun gallery.

Shackled and Chained

Island Dock - Convicts board the prison launch Warden Blackwell to San Francisco.

Officer Gordon Gronzo - Correctional Officer Gordon Gronzo takes his last walk down Dock Tower steps once the launch Warden Blackwell has departed.

Officer Gordon Gronzo - Officer Gordon Gronzo holding .30-06 rifle and wearing .38 police special revolver.

Convict’s Bus - The convicts were driven by bus to the dock. In the background are the Doctor’s House (left) and the Warden’s House.

Convict’s Bus - The bus transporting convicts drives to the dock. On the left is the Warden’s House; on the right is the Lighthouse Keepers’ Quarters.

Administration Building - Correctional Officer Jim Albright escorts the last twenty-seven convicts out of the Administration Building.

Keys Were a Way of Life

Kids on C-D Street - Children of the island staff, who also lived on Alcatraz, were allowed inside the prison for the first time.

Control Center Officer - From behind two-inch bulletproof glass, guards controlled inmates’ movements throughout the prison.

Guard - An officer plays with kids on C-D Street in the empty prison.

Last Boat Ride - An anything but ordinary work day ends, as the officers return to San Francisco.

(via Alcatraz: The Last Day Photography)

Black & White Photographs of World War I in 1914

Crowds, many waving boaters, cheer Britain's declaration of war on Germany in Trafalgar Square, London. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Police in Sarajevo arrest a man after a failed assassination attempt on the life of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The arrested man previously thought to be Gavrilo Princip, who succeeded in killing the Archduke the same day, is now thought to be one of his six co-conspirators Nedeljko Cabrinovic. The assassination was one of the causes of World War I. The moment was captured by amateur photographer Milos Oberajger. (Photo by Milos Oberajger/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Exuberance on Unter den Linden in Berlin, following the declaration of war, 4th August 1914. A photograph of Kaiser Wilhelm II is visible in the background. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Russian soldiers stoping a lorryload of deserters. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Russian soldiers outside a marconi wireless station. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Mobilized Austrian troops and officers bid farewell to their wives and sweethearts. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Belgian soldiers driving a Minerva armoured car during the First World War. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A recruitment drive during the First World War at Trafalgar Square, London. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

Two men conscripted to the British Army undergoing a medical check-up at Marylebone Grammar School, London. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

French officers dining in style in a trench near the front line. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Two army deserters are threatened by a Russian soldier with raised rifle and bayonet. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

British tommies relaxing and having wounds treated in an underground forward dressing station by the Menin Road in France. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)

German sharpshooters move to a position near the front line, during the fighting near the Aisne River, 1914. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Injured soldiers rest in a cave in France. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Wounded British and Belgium soldiers retreating from Mons during World War I. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)

British soldiers, newly arrived in France preparing to go to the lines. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)

French troops waiting to depart for the Belgian front. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)

German infantry on manoeuvres in preparation for war. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Members of the 15th London Regiment receive their pay outside Somerset House, soon after mobilisation. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

German reservists going home to say goodbye to their families, before leaving to go to the front. The children with them are wearing their father's helmets. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)


The collection consists of photography of every aspect of World War I - from cadet training to soldiers' graves. Every theatre of war is represented, but the majority of prints were taken in Europe, particularly on the battlefields of France and Belgium.

Original members still serving with a Canadian infantry brigade, 1914.

A bad road, 1914.

A car in trouble after the thaw, 1914.

Wood on its way upcountry, 1914.

A few kilometers behind our line, 1914.

A British dispatch rider, 1914.

The German offensive - Some of the stables in the advanced lines, 1914.

The German offensive - Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig meets M. Clemenceau on the British Front, 1914.

The German offensive - The road to victory, 1914.

The German offensive - Refugees from Armentieres, 1914.

The German offensive - Walking wounded of the 51st Division, 1914.

The German offensive - Getting themselves ready for checking the German offensive, 1914.

The German offensive - A sister attending to gassed men on the Ambulance Train, 1914.

The German offensive - Re-assembling and repairing guns at a Travelling Repair Workshop, 1914.

The German offensive - Some of the gallant 55th going for a short rest after fighting hard, 1914.

The German offensive - An aeroplane protecting some of the 55th Division waiting to go into action, 1914.

The German offensive - Tanks waiting for orders, 1914.

Wounded just arriving from the fighting line leaving the Casualty Clearing Station, 1914.

The boys how have done good work going back for a rest, 1914. A battalion of the Royal Warwickshire.

A train load of men going in support of their brave fighting brothers, 1914.

His Majesty King George Vth visits his armies in France. H.M. the King talking to some Scottish soldiers just out of the line, 1914.

H.M. the King inspects some Scottish troops just outside of the line, 1914.

The King talking to an officer, 1914.

H.M. the King talking to men wounded in the German offensive, 1914.

H.M. the King visits New Zealand troops, 1914.

H.M. the King talking to some R.C.F. officers, 1914.

H.M. the King talking to a soldier wounded in the German offensive, 1914.

The Canteen at the Nth British Corps School where American officers are being trained, 1914.

American officers training in rifle, gernade and bombing practice at the Nth British Corps School, 1914.

American officers with Commandant at the Nth British Corps School somewhere in France, 1914.

American officers training in Stokes mortor work at the Nth British Corps School, 1914.

Exhibition of horse training, 1914.

The bridge, resting on barrels, constructed by British troops, 1914.

The mill at Jerishoh on the Auja where one of the British crossings was made, 1914.

(via UBC Library Digitization Centre)