The Cars of Alcatraz East Crime Museum

"Break the rules and you go to prison. Break the prison rules and you go to Alcatraz." 

Alcatraz East, new home of the Crime Museum.

They say crime doesn't pay, but it has certainly sold a lot of newspapers and generated plenty of stories. From the earliest years of Hollywood, tinseltown has produced a wide array of films and TV shows about bootleggers, hustlers, mob violence and the consequences of a life of crime. In 1931 Edward G. Robinson made a splash as a small time criminal who goes to the big city to make a fortune in Little Caesar. The following year Howard Hughes' Scarface hit the silver screen, loosely based on the Chicago mob boss of the same nickname whose career had just come to a close. In fact, Hollywood produced seemingly countless Capone films. More than 20 actors have played the notorious mob boss, and a dozen more have played characters based on the man. Books are equally numerous, one of them by Deidre Marie Capone, whose grandfather was "Uncle Al's" brother.*

When we were kids my brother and I loved watching The Untouchables on television, with Elliot Ness heading up the good guys trying to reign in Capone and company. At that time we thought the bad guys were cool, so when we played I'd be Machine Gun Kelly, and others would play Baby Face Nelson, Scarface or Johnny Torrio. When all of us kids grew up we were a ripened market for Brian De Palma's slick, no-holds-barred version of this Chicago gangland story starring Kevin Costner and Sean Connery as the good guys and Robert de Niro as the ultimate Capone.

John Dillinger's 1933 Essex Terraplane, purchased in 1934. FBI agents
nearly got him, but he escaped with his girl friend Evelyn Frechette.
You can still see a bullet inside the car from the shootout.

Another name that resonated with readers of crime stories was John Dillinger. And when Warren Beatty wore the mantle of Clyde Barrow, that film put a human face on the life of crime. Beatty must have enjoyed playing the role because he later decided to wrap himself in the character of Bugsy Siegel, the gangster who helped create The Strip in Las Vegas and the glam in glamour.

We visited our kids when they were in California for a spell and one of the highlights of the trip included a visit to the Rock, the island of Alcatraz. In 2016 a Washington D.C. crime museum closed and its artifacts, memorabilia and collections were moved to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to a new home called Alcatraz East.

The Alcatraz East museum features 20 different exhibit areas focused on five themes: the history of American crime, the consequences of crime, crime scene investigation (CSI), crime fighting, and pop culture. Authentic pieces used as evidence in well-known criminal cases, and interactive exhibits and activities, are on display. And some rather famous cars as well.

Replica of Bonnie & Clyde's 1934 Ford V-8, shot full of holes for the film.
The flathead V-8 engine was introduced in 1932, and soon became an instant hit. 

You can see we've travelled far afield of the purpose of this blog post which was to share a few of the cars featured at Alcatraz East. Cars have played a defining role in U.S. history since Henry Ford's invention of the assembly line. Cars are featured in at least two of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books (we especially remember the role cars played in The Great Gatsby) and GM wasn't far off when it pegged Chevy as "the heartbeat of America."

Prohibition-era gangsters rushed through the city with Tommy-guns blaring, and bank robbers made their daring escapes in their getaway cars with running boards. In Bonnie and Clyde, those shootout scenes and especially the final takedown in this cream-colored '34 Ford (pictured above) probably set new standards for realism in Hollywood violence.

Serial killer Ted Bundy's 1968 Volkswagen Beetle is also featured in the museum. His name alone gives one the creeps. The vehicle was integral to both his murders and his ultimate conviction when it yielded important DNA evidence. The car is displayed without the front passenger seat in the same way Bundy used the car.

Until OJ attempted to make his great escape in his white 1993 Ford Bronco, the slowest white Bronco in this country was John Elway. That Bronco driven by Simpson’s friend Al Cowlings is now parked inside Alcatraz East. Do you remember where you were during that slow speed chase with OJ in the back seat? I do.

For the record there are a couple vehicles from the "good guys" side here as well including a County Sheriff's car and a Surveillance Vehicle that had been used by the Food & Drug Administration.

Pigeon Forge is located Southeast of Knoxville near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a most beautiful part of the world. According the Rachael Penman, director of artifacts and exhibits,“Our crime cars each represent a cautionary tale, symbolizing a warning about the consequences of crime, while our law enforcement vehicles are positive reminders of all that law enforcement does every day, both in public and behind-the-scenes, to keep us safe.”

Related Links
For more info or to purchase tickets: www.alcatrazeast.com
* My interview with Deidre Marie, Last of the Capones
Claudia Oltean's Another Chance to Die
Writing Crime Fiction In Prohibition Era Detroit
Our Visit To Alcatraz 

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Engage it.