Trump floats reopening Alcatraz -- here's how much revenue the notorious prison generates (May 2025)
www.foxbusiness.com

... The federal prison at Alcatraz closed in 1963 because it was several times more expensive to operate than other prisons.

President Donald Trump on Sunday announced that he's directing federal agencies to reopen the prison at Alcatraz after rebuilding and expanding the prison that was shuttered over 60 years ago and currently serves as a museum and tourist destination in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The maximum-security federal penitentiary at Alcatraz Island opened in 1934, located 1.25 miles from the coast, where it was thought to be escape-proof because of the San Francisco Bay's strong currents and shark-infested waters. The federal prison housed notorious criminals like Al Capone, and saw a high-profile escape that inspired the 1979 Hollywood film "Escape from Alcatraz."

The prison at Alcatraz closed in 1963 because it was no longer cost-effective compared to other prisons. Ahead of its closure, the Bureau of Prisons said Alcatraz's operating costs were over three times that of any other federal prison in 1959 " $10.10 daily per capita cost compared with $3 in Atlanta. ...