Alcatraz Island (/ˈælkəˌtræz/) is a small island about 1.25 miles offshore fromSan Francisco inSan Francisco Bay,California, near theGolden Gate Strait.[1] The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for alighthouse, a military fortification, and a military prison. In 1934, the island was converted into afederal prison,Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. The strong tidal currents around the island and ice-cold water temperatures made escape nearly impossible, giving the prison one of the most notorious reputations of its kind in American history.[4] The prison closed on March 21, 1963, leaving the island a major tourist attraction today with nearly 1.4 million people visiting the island annually.[5]
Beginning in November 1969, the island wasoccupied for more than 19 months by a group ofNative Americans, initially primarily from San Francisco, who were later joined by theAmerican Indian Movement and other urban Native Americans from other parts of the country, who were part of a wave ofNative American activists organizing public protests across the US through the 1970s. In 1972, Alcatraz was transferred to the Department of Interior to become part ofGolden Gate National Recreation Area. It was designated as aNational Historic Landmark in 1986.
Today, the island's facilities are managed by theNational Park Service as part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Visitors can reach the island byferry ride from Pier 33, located between theSan Francisco Ferry Building andFisherman's Wharf.Hornblower Cruises, operating under the name Alcatraz City Cruises, is the official ferry provider to and from the island.
Alcatraz Island is the site of the abandoned federal prison, the oldest operatinglighthouse on theWest Coast of the United States, early militaryfortifications, and natural features such asrock pools and aseabird colony (mostlywestern gulls,cormorants, andegrets). According to a 1971 documentary on the history of Alcatraz, the island measures 1,675 feet (511 m) by 590 feet (180 m) and is 135 feet (41 m) at highest point during mean tide.[6] The total area of the island is reported to be 22 acres (8.9 ha).[1]
Alcatraz Island, 1896Alcatraz in the dawn mist, from the east. The "parade ground" is at left.Alcatraz Island and lighthouse at sunsetThe water tower and powerhouse (at right), which generated electricity for the islandA model of Military Point Alcatraz, 1866–1868, now on display at Alcatraz IslandModel of the prison circa 1952, now on display at Alcatraz Island
The first European to document the islands of San Francisco Bay wasSpanish naval officer and explorerJuan Manuel de Ayala during theSpanish rule of California; he charted San Francisco Bay in 1775. He named today'sYerba Buena Island as"La Isla de los Alcatraces", which translates as "The Island of theGannets", but is commonly believed to translate as "The Island of thePelicans" (the modern Spanish word for pelican ispelícano),[7][8][9][10][11][12] from the archaic Spanishalcatraz ("pelican"). No gannets are native to the Pacific Coast, making the older Spanish usage more likely.
Yerba Buena Island was labeled onAyala's 1775 chart of San Francisco Bay as "Isla de Alcatraces". The name was later applied to the rock now known as Alcatraz Island byCaptain Frederick W. Beechey, an English naval officer and explorer.[13]
Over the years, the Spanish version "Alcatraz" became popular and is now widely used. In August 1827, for instance, French Captain Auguste Bernard Duhaut-Cilly wrote "... running past Alcatraze's (Pelicans) Island ... covered with a countless number of these birds. A gun fired over the feathered legions caused them to fly up in a great cloud and with a noise like a hurricane."[14] TheCalifornia brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) is not known to nest on the island today. The Spanish built several small buildings on the island and other minor structures.[6]
The earliest recorded private owner of the island of Alcatraz is Julian Workman, to whom it was given byMexican GovernorPio Pico in June 1846, with the understanding that Workman would build a lighthouse on it.[15] Julian Workman is the baptismal name ofWilliam Workman, co-owner ofRancho La Puente and a personal friend of Pio Pico. Later in 1846, acting in his capacity as military governor of California,John C. Frémont bought the island for $5,000 in the name of theUnited States government from Francis Temple.[6][16][17]
In 1850, PresidentMillard Fillmore ordered that Alcatraz Island be set aside specifically as a United States military reservation,[11] for military purposes based upon the U.S. acquisition of California from Mexico following theMexican–American War.[18] Frémont had expected a large compensation for his initiative in purchasing and securing Alcatraz Island for the U.S. government, but the U.S. government later invalidated the sale and paid Frémont nothing. Frémont and his heirs sued for compensation during protracted but unsuccessful legal battles that extended into the 1890s.[18]
The lighthouse tower adjacent to the prison cell house
Following the acquisition of California by the United States as a result of theTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), which ended theMexican–American War, and the onset of theCalifornia Gold Rush the following year, theU.S. Army began studying the suitability of Alcatraz Island for the positioning of coastal batteries to protect the approaches to San Francisco Bay. In 1853, under the direction ofZealous B. Tower, theUnited States Army Corps of Engineers began fortifying the island, work which continued until 1858, when the initial version ofFort Alcatraz was complete. The island's first garrison, numbering about 200 soldiers, arrived at the end of that year.
When theAmerican Civil War broke out in 1861, the island mounted 85 cannons (increased to 105 cannons by 1866) in casements around its perimeter, though the small size of the garrison meant only a fraction of the guns could be used at one time. At this time, it also served as the San Francisco Arsenal for storage of firearms to prevent them falling into the hands ofConfederate sympathizers.[19] Alcatraz, built as a "heavily fortified military site on the West Coast", was to form a "triangle of defense" withFort Point and Lime Point, but the contemplated work on Lime Point was never built. The first operational lighthouse on theWest Coast of the United States was also built on Alcatraz. During the war, Fort Alcatraz was used to imprisonConfederate sympathizers andprivateers on the west coast, but its guns were never fired at an enemy.[20]
Studies of the island and its fortifications have included archeological surveys relying on contemporary technology. In 2019 "Binghamton University archaeologist Timothy de Smet and colleagues located historical remains beneath the former recreation yard of the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary." Usingground-penetrating radar (GPR) data and georectifications, Smet and colleagues discovered structures, including "a 'bombproof' earthwork traverse along with its underlying vaulted brick masonry tunnel and ventilation ducts," in surprisingly good condition.[21] Archaeologists also found the remains of ammunition magazines, and tunnels below the penitentiary that was built later.[22][23]
Because of the isolation created by the cold, strong currents of the waters of San Francisco Bay, as early as 1859, Alcatraz was used to house soldiers convicted of crimes. By 1861, the fort was the military prison for theDepartment of the Pacific. It housed Civil Warprisoners of war (POWs) as early as that year.[24]
Alcatraz citadel built in the early 1850s; 1908 photo
Starting in 1863, the military also held private citizens accused of treason, after the writ ofhabeas corpus in the United States was suspended. Hundreds of troops were trained on the island, with more than 350 military personnel in place by April 1861. As enlistees were assigned to units, new green troops reported for training. In early 1865, the number of men reached 433, the peak of the war.[25]
During the Civil War-era, rapid changes in artillery and fortification were generated. Alcatraz's defenses were obsolete by the postwar years. Modernization efforts, including an ambitious plan to level the entire island and construct shell-proof underground magazines and tunnels, were undertaken between 1870 and 1876 but never completed (the so-called "parade ground" on the southern tip of the island represents the extent of the flattening effort).[26] Instead, the army switched the focus of its plans for Alcatraz from coastal defense to detention, a task for which it was well suited because of its isolation.
In 1867, a brick jailhouse was built (previously inmates had been kept in the basement of the guardhouse), and in 1868, Alcatraz was officially designated as a long-term detention facility for military prisoners. The facility was later discontinued for Prisoners of War in 1846[dubious –discuss]. Among those incarcerated at Alcatraz were Confederates caught on theWest Coast[6] and someHopiNative American men in the 1870s, who refused orders to send their children away from their families toIndian boarding schools.[27]
In 1898, due to theSpanish–American War, the prison population rose from 26 to over 450. From 1905 to 1907 it was commanded by U.S. Army MajorGeorge W. McIver. After the1906 San Francisco earthquake, civilian prisoners were transferred to Alcatraz for safe confinement. On March 21, 1907, Alcatraz was officially designated as the Western U.S. Military Prison, later Pacific Branch, U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, 1915.[19]
In 1909 construction began on the huge concrete main cell block, designed by Major Reuben Turner, which remains the island's dominant feature. It was completed in 1912.[19] To accommodate the new cell block, the Citadel, a three-story barracks, was demolished down to the first floor, which was below ground level. The building had been constructed in an excavated pit, creating a defensive drymoat. The first floor was incorporated as a basement to the new cell block, giving rise to the popular legend of "dungeons" below the main cell block. The US Disciplinary Barracks was deactivated in October 1933 and transferred to theBureau of Prisons.[19]
An exterior view of the Alcatrazmain cell block from the exercise yard
The United States Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz were acquired by theUnited States Department of Justice on October 12, 1933, and the island was designated as afederal prison in August 1934. Alcatraz was designed to hold prisoners who continuously caused trouble at other federal prisons.[29] At 9:40 am on August 11, 1934, the first batch of 137 prisoners arrived at Alcatraz, arriving by railroad from the United States Penitentiary inLeavenworth, Kansas, toSanta Venetia, California. They were escorted to Alcatraz, while handcuffed in high security coaches and guarded by 60 specialFBI agents,U.S. Marshals and railway security officials.[6][30]
Alcatraz Island seen from San Francisco in 1955 when the penitentiary was in operation
Most of the prisoners were notorious bank robbers and murderers.[6] The prison initially had a staff of 155, including the first wardenJames A. Johnston and associate wardenJ. E. Shuttleworth, both considered to be "iron men".[6] The staff were highly trained in security, but not rehabilitation.[6] Despite what was said about the jail, prisoners requested to be transferred to Alcatraz Island due to its single-cell occupancy and high quality of food.[31]
Cell 181 in Alcatraz where Al Capone was imprisoned
Alcatraz Island also served as aresidential community for Bureau of Prisons staff and their families. Correctional officers and their families lived in designated apartment buildings on the island. Children attended a dedicated school and, years later, many created anAlumni Association to share memories and reflect on their distinctive experience growing up on “The Rock.”[1]
Contrary to popular belief, it was possible to escape and swim all of the way to shore.[33] However, during its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary claimed that no prisoner successfully escaped. A total of36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts, two men trying twice. 23 were caught alive, six were shot and killed during their escape, two drowned, and five are listed as "missing and presumed drowned".[34] The most violent incident occurred on May 2, 1946, when a failed escape attempt by six prisoners led to theBattle of Alcatraz. Perhaps the most famous is theintricate escape, carried out on June 11, 1962, byFrank Morris,John Anglin, andClarence Anglin. The three men are believed to have drowned in their attempt. However, no bodies were ever found, sparking speculation that they made it to shore and escaped.
On June 11, 1962, brothers John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris escapedAlcatraz prison. John, Clarence, and Frank were all doing time for committing crimes such as bank robbery. They did this by digging through a vent for approximately three months, once they reached the top it took additional time to file down the bolts of the roof vents. They used sharpened spoons, a vacuum cleaner motor drill, and any other tools they could find to make the hole in the vent bigger and get through the bolted roof top vent. To fulfill their plan of escaping they made realistic dummy heads by using paper mache to disguise them while they do nightly checks. They used hair clippings to make it believable that they were still sleeping in their beds during nightly checks. Getting out of the prison was only half their plan, they had to make it 1.25 miles in shark infested waters. They createdrafts out of prison rain jackets and severallife preservers; they were able to contract this idea from magazines they would read while being in prison. They had come up with waterproof glue as well to keep the raft together in the water. Then they made wooden paddles out of leftover wood scraps and plywood found around the prison. To blow up their raft they stole aconcertina and used it to inflate their makeshift raft. At around 10pm on June 11th 1962 they made the escape and were never seen again. A fourth prisoner, Allen West, had intended to escape with Morris and the Anglins, but failed to get out of his cell in time. He would later cooperate with the FBI during their investigation, revealing the finer details of the escape plan.[35][36]
Although most escapees were caught or drowned, in 1962, prisonerJohn Paul Scott made it to the shore. However, he was so weary that police found him unconscious and inhypothermic shock. The annualEscape from Alcatraz Triathlon includes a required 1.5-mile (2.4 km) swim from the island to the bay shore.[37]
There are several reasons that Alcatraz closed as a penitentiary in 1963. The penitentiary cost much more to operate than other prisons (nearly $10 per prisoner per day, as opposed to $3 per prisoner per day at Atlanta).[38] To add on, fresh water was impossible to get from around the Island to nearly 1 Million gallons of water had to be transported weekly.[2] Half a century of saltwater saturation had severely eroded the buildings and three people had purportedly escaped in 1962. After its closure,George Moscone received public proposals to repurpose Alcatraz Island.[39]
Alcatraz Island was occupied by Native American activists for the first time on March 8, 1964. The protest, proposed by Lakota Sioux activistBelva Cottier and joined by about 35 others, was reported by, among others, theSan Francisco Chronicle and theSan Francisco Examiner.[40]
Beginning on November 20, 1969, a group ofNative Americans calledUnited Indians of All Tribes, mostly college students from San Francisco, occupied the island to protest federal policies related to American Indians. Some of them were children of Native Americans who had relocated in the city as part of theBureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA)Indian termination policy, which was a series of laws and policies aimed at the assimilation of Native Americans into mainstream US society. It encouraged Native Americans to move away from theIndian reservations and into cities to take advantage of health, educational and employment opportunities. A number of employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs also occupied Alcatraz at that time, including Doris Purdy, an amateur photographer, who later produced footage of her stay on the island.[41]
The occupiers, who stayed on the island for nearly two years, demanded that the island's facilities be adapted and new structures built for an Indian education center, ecology center, and cultural center. The American Indians claimed the island by provisions of theTreaty of Fort Laramie (1868) between the US and the Sioux; they said the treaty promised to return all retired, abandoned, or out-of-use federal lands to the native peoples from whom they were acquired. Indians of All Tribes claimed Alcatraz Island by the "Right of Discovery"; as historian Troy R. Johnson states inThe Occupation of Alcatraz Island, generations ofindigenous peoples knew about Alcatraz at least 10,000 years before any European knew about any part of North America. Begun by urban Indians of San Francisco, the occupation attracted other Native Americans from across the country, includingAmerican Indian Movement (AIM) urban activists fromMinneapolis.
The Alcatraz cellhouse, lighthouse, and Warden's House, which was burned out during the 1969–1971 Native American occupation
During the nineteen months and nine days of occupation by the American Indians, several buildings at Alcatraz were damaged or destroyed by fire, including the lighthouse keeper's home, the warden's home, the Officers' Club,[42] the recreation hall, and the Coast Guard quarters. The origin of the fires is disputed. The US government demolished a number of other buildings (mostly apartments) after the occupation had ended.Graffiti from the period of Native American occupation is still visible at many locations on the island.[43]
During the occupation, PresidentRichard Nixon rescinded the Indian termination policy, designed by earlier administrations to end federal recognition of many tribes and their special relationship with the US government. He established a newpolicy of self-determination, in part as a result of the publicity and awareness created by the occupation. The occupation ended on June 11, 1971.[44]
In 1972, the National Park Service purchased Alcatraz along with Fort Mason from the U.S. Army to establish the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Under "An Act to Establish the Golden Gate National Recreation Area" President Richard Nixon allocated $120 million for land acquisition and development of the area.[45] It has since been under the direction of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and now operates as a tourist site and museum dedicated to its time as a federal penitentiary. Operating costs still remain one of its biggest challenges today.
On May 4, 2025, PresidentDonald Trump proposed reopening the island's prison.[46][47] Later that night, Trump told reporters that his Alcatraz plan was "just an idea I've had" to counter the "radicalized judges [that] want to have trials for every single—think of it—every single person that's in our country illegally,"[48] a reference to his invocation of theAlien Enemies Act to conductmass deportations of Venezuelan and Salvadoran illegal immigrants,[49] which had been blocked by multiple judges.[50]
In 1993, the National Park Service published a plan entitledAlcatraz Development Concept and Environmental Assessment.[52] This plan, approved in 1980, doubled the area of Alcatraz accessible to the public, in order to enable visitors to enjoy its scenery and bird, marine, and animal life.[53]
Map of Alcatraz
Major sites in the cultural landscape include:[54]
Around 2007, theGlobal Peace Foundation proposed to raze the prison and build a peace center in its place. Supporters collected 10,350 signatures – sufficient to have it placed as a proposition on the presidential primary ballots in San Francisco for February 5, 2008.[57] The proposed plan was estimated at US$1 billion. For the plan to pass,Congress would have to have taken Alcatraz out of the National Park Service. Critics of the plan said that Alcatraz is too rich in history to be destroyed.[58] On February 6, 2008, the Alcatraz Island Global Peace Center Proposition C failed to pass, with 72% of voters rejecting the proposition.[59]
The coastal environment of the San Francisco Bay Area has caused deterioration and corrosion of building materials throughout Alcatraz. Beginning in 2011, theNational Park Service began major renovations on the island, including the installation of solar panels on the cell house roof, slope stabilization near the Warden's House, and the stabilization and rehabilitation of the outer cell house walls.
Boat dock in 2024
Now one of San Francisco's major tourist attractions, Alcatraz drew some 1.7 million visitors annually according to a 2018 report.[60] Visitors arrive by ferry, operated under contract by Alcatraz Cruises LLC at Pier 33.[61] The 2018 report indicated that "former prison buildings are being conserved and seismically upgraded and additional areas of the Island are opened to the public as safety hazards are removed".[60] During theCOVID-19 pandemic, the buildings and the island remained closed to the public for more than a year (and ferry services were suspended), reopening in March 2021.[62]
Alcatraz has been home to several art installations. In 2014, Chinese artist/dissidentAi Weiwei staged an exhibition which explored "questions about human rights and freedom of expression" called @Large.[63] This exhibition includedLego portraits of famous political prisoners. The creation of the exhibition was featured in a 2019 documentary film,Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly.[64] In 2016,Nelson Saiers usedmath and prison slang as central elements in a six-month installation that called attention to the imposition of long prison sentences.[65][66]
Cliff tops at the island's north end: Containing a onetime manufacturing building and aplaza, the area is listed as important to nesting and roosting birds.
Thepowerhouse area: A steep embankment where native grassland and creepingwild rye support a habitat fordeer mice.
Tide pools: One of the only complexes in the San Francisco Bay, the island's tide pools were created by quarrying activities, and contain a variety of typical invertebrate species.[67]
The Agave Path, a trail named for its dense growth ofagave: Located atop a shoreline bulkhead on the south side, it provides a nesting habitat fornight herons.
In recent years from the months of August to October, large numbers ofcormorant flies can be found on the island.
Gardens planted by families of the original Army post, and later by families of the prison guards, fell into neglect after the prison closure in 1963. After 40 years, they are being restored by a paid staff member and many volunteers, thanks to funding by the Garden Conservancy and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. The untended gardens had become severely overgrown and had developed into a nesting habitat and sanctuary for numerous birds. Now, areas of bird habitat are being preserved and protected, while many of the gardens are being restored to their original state.
In clearing out the overgrowth, workers found that many of the original plants were growing where they had been planted – some more than 100 years ago. Numerous heirloom rose hybrids, including a Welsh rose (Bardou Job) that had been believed to be extinct, have been discovered and propagated. Many species of roses,succulents, andgeraniums are growing among apple and fig trees, banks of sweet peas, manicured gardens of cutting flowers, and wildly overgrown sections of native grasses with blackberry and honeysuckle.
Escape from Alcatraz andThe Rock are two films that show how inescapable the island is.Escape from Alcatraz is based on the true story of a few inmates trying to flee the island.The Rock is an action film featuring Alcatraz.[68]
^ab"Alcatraz Island".National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived fromthe original on October 12, 2007. RetrievedOctober 22, 2007.
^Erwin Gustav Gudde; William Bright (2010).California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. University of California Press. p. 7.ISBN978-0520266193.
^Auguste Duhaut-Cilly (1999).A Voyage to California, the Sandwich Islands, and Around the World in the Years 1826–1829. University of California Press. p. 284.ISBN978-0-520-21752-2.
^The Rock (1915)."A Brief History of the Island of Alcatraz".The Rock.1 (January). Improvement Fund, Pacific Branch United States Disciplinary Barracks, Alcatraz, California: 3.
^abcdHannings, Bud (2005).Forts of the United States: An Historical Dictionary, 16th Through 19th Centuries. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co Inc. p. 36.ISBN978-0-7864-1796-4.
^"The fate of the historic fortifications at Alcatraz island based on terrestrial laser scans and ground-penetrating radar interpretations from the recreation yard". Near Surface Geophysics. January 14, 2019. RetrievedMarch 7, 2019.Alcatraz is less known in its former military role as a 19th-century coastal fortification protecting the interests of a rapidly westward-expanding nation during the turbulent era of Manifest Destiny, the 1849 Gold Rush and the Civil War. The fortification, with its underground ammunition magazines and tunnels, is important from a military history perspective, marking the transition to earthen structures from the traditional brick and masonry constructions that characterized earlier 19th-century coastal defences.
^"Civil War at Alcatraz". National Park Service. March 19, 2015. Archived fromthe original on March 17, 2015. RetrievedMarch 7, 2019.the army continued to work on Alcatraz throughout 1860 and 1861, expanding and improving the island's existing fortifications. The military also used the island as a training ground for soldiers. New troops continually arrived on the island, underwent training, and departed for other assignments. With many new enlistees, the military personnel on Alcatraz increased to over 350 by the end of April 1861. The army slowly increased the number of men assigned to Alcatraz throughout the Civil War, reaching a high point of 433 men in early 1865. The army shipped most of these soldiers out to the Southwestern frontier; however, some were sent to battlefields in the East.
^Alcatraz Preservation Project: Exposing the Layers of An American Landmark (pamphlet), Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, 2003.
^Child, Brenda J. (2000).Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900–1940.University of Nebraska Press. p. 13.ISBN0-8032-6405-4.The most painful story of resistance to assimilation programs and compulsory school attendance laws involved the Hopis in Arizona, who surrendered a group of men to the military rather than voluntarily relinquish their children. The Hopi men served time in federal prison at Alcatraz.
^Grosser, P., Block, H., Blackwell, A. S., & Berkman, A. (1933).Uncle Sam's Devil's Island: Experiences of a Conscientious Objector in America during the World War. Boston
^Morita, D. (October 9, 2009). "Former Alcatraz inmate speaks about his time".San Francisco Examiner.
^Janssen, Volker (August 2010). "Alcatraz: The Gangster Years. By David Ward with Gene Kassebaum. (Berkeley, University of California Press, 2009. 224 pp.)Hard Time at Tehachapi: California's First Women's Prison. By Kathleen Cairns. (Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press, 2009. 584 pp.)".Pacific Historical Review.79 (3):471–474.doi:10.1525/phr.2010.79.3.471.ISSN0030-8684.
^"Alcatraz Origins". Federal Bureau of Prisons. March 11, 1016. RetrievedFebruary 7, 2019.much damage occurred (graffiti, vandalism, and a fire that destroyed the lighthouse keeper's home, the Warden's home, and the Officers' Club)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
