Alcatraz doesn’t need a new prison, it needs a new colossus

Guest opinion appearing in the San Francisco Chronicle May 28, 2025

President Donald Trump’s recent statement about rebuilding and reopening Alcatraz is a reminder of the island’s unique force as a symbol of American justice — one dthat transcends the popular imagination. This is why Alcatraz’s destiny lies not in its past as a prison, but in its future as the home of the next great American colossus.

A colossal statue — a Colossus of Justice — should be built on Alcatraz Island to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary next year. It could bookend the continent as a sister monument to the Statue of Liberty in New York.

From the Colossi of Memnon to the Colossus of Rhodes, great civilizations throughout history have erected colossal statues to celebrate victory in war, prosperity in peace, or to reinforce a shared civic identity. The Statue of Liberty, erected in 1886 with private funding from a consortium of French and American philanthropists, was inspired by America’s centennial and the abolition of slavery.

Yet liberty in the American civil religion has always been closely and poetically linked to justice.

In his Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln described the United States has a nation “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Dedicated, in other words, to justice: the presumption of innocence, due process and equal protection under the law. When pledging allegiance to the American flag, we close by acknowledging the flag’s pledge to us of “liberty and justice for all.”

Liberty and justice are also philosophically linked. Plato described liberty as the lifeblood of democracy, the passion behind its restless creativity. Yet having witnessed a parade of demagogues ascend the Athenian democracy, squander its empire and execute his teacher, Socrates, Plato warned that liberty without justice sows anarchy, which in turn leads to tyranny. With sword and scale in hand, blind and impartial Justice defends and protects Liberty from her own passions.

The many similarities between Alcatraz Island and Liberty Island, where the Statue of Liberty stands, are also poetic.

French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, the driving force behind the Statue of Liberty, was enamored by Liberty Island (then known as Bedloe’s Island) because it was “the gateway to America” for those arriving from across the Atlantic Ocean, and because it was federally owned, “belonging to all the states.”

Likewise, the federally owned Alcatraz Island dramatically commands the entrance to the Golden Gate, the literal and metaphorical entrance to North America from the Pacific Ocean. Facing west, the Colossus of Justice would gaze at the world beyond the Pacific Ocean just as the Statue of Liberty gazes beyond the Atlantic.

Alcatraz’s role as home to America’s most famous prison provides an ideal context for reflections on justice. But long before it was a prison, Alcatraz was a fortress operated by the U.S. Army — just like Bedloe’s Island. Alcatraz is also about 50% closer to mainland San Francisco than Liberty Island is to lower Manhattan, and ferries pass it daily, ensuring easy public access.

Finally, a Colossus of Justice on Alcatraz isn’t a new idea. First proposed in 1965 by Wisconsin resident Fredric Fosshage in a letter to the mayor of San Francisco. Fosshage cited “the constant search for justice” as a defining feature of American society.

So, how do we get it done?

First, the Colossus of Justice should be privately funded and led by Bay Area donors, ideally with support from Japanese and South Korean citizens across the Pacific in homage to the role of our French allies across the Atlantic more than a century ago. Support from the National Park Service, which governs Alcatraz and faces significant budget cuts under the Trump administration, would be modest — the hosting of a design competition, for example, and allowing site access for construction. In any case, such a project would last multiple presidential administrations.

Funding should be announced on July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, just as funding for the Statue of Liberty began in 1876. Like the Statue of Liberty, we should aim to complete the Colossus of Justice within 10 years.

Some will argue the colossus would be an expensive and unnecessary vanity. The same arguments were made against the Athena Parthenos, the Statue of Liberty and every other beloved monument ever built. Others will argue our commitment to justice has wavered, that we don’t deserve a monument to her.

But that misses the point. Monuments exist to support those toiling to keep us on the path, not to declare victory in the struggle. The struggle is eternal. A Colossus of Justice on Alcatraz would elevate and inspire for a new generation the meaning and importance of America’s noblest aspiration — the guarantee of liberty and justice for all. Sign the petition at www.change.org/p/build-a-colossus-of-justice-on-alcatraz-island