Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island is located about 2 kilometers offshore from San Francisco, California, United States, in San Francisco Bay. This small island was built from 1934 until 1963 with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison and a federal jail.

Quick facts

• Name: Alcatraz Island
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Type of attraction: Island
• Ticket price: From $24

The water currents around the island were always strong, which reduced an inmate’s chance of escaping. In 1972, Alcatraz became part of the National Recreation Area of Golden Gate and in 1986 was appointed as a National Historic Landmark.

Today, as part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the island’s facilities are managed by the National Park Service; they are open to tours. Visitors can reach the island from Pier 33, located between the San Francisco Ferry Building and Fisherman’s Wharf in just under 15 minutes by ferry ride.

The word “Alcatraz” comes from the Spanish word “Alcatraces.” San Francisco Bay was first entered by the Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775. Ayala’s expedition charted the bay and gave one of its three islands the name Alcatraces. Alcatraz is the Anglicised form of the original name. Although it’s not settled, most sources agree that Alcatraz means “pelican” or “strange bird.”

A presidential edict from 1850 designated the island as a potential military reservation for the United States. In the early 1850s, the U.S. Army constructed a Citadel, or fortification, at the peak of the island in order to protect San Francisco Bay from the rapid development that followed the California Gold Rush.

More than a hundred cannons were planned to be installed by the Army, making Alcatraz the most heavily fortified military station on the West Coast. Alcatraz, Fort Point, and Lime Point all worked together to form a “triangle of defence” above the bay’s entrance. In addition, the first American lighthouse on the Pacific Coast was built on this island.

The first military captives arrived on the island in the late 1850s. It took more than a century for Alcatraz to fulfil its original purpose as a jail, even if its defensive value declined with time (the island never fired its guns in war). The Citadel was destroyed by the Army in 1909, but the base of the building was used to construct a new military jail. Inmates at Alcatraz helped construct the Pacific Branch, U.S. Disciplinary Barracks for the United States Army between 1909 and 1911. In time, this infamous jail structure earned the nickname “The Rock.”

For over eight decades, from 1850 to 1933, the island was used by the United States Army. It was then turned over to the U.S. Department of Justice for use by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. To deal with the most unrepentant criminals in Federal prisons and to demonstrate to the law-abiding population that the government was serious about halting the widespread criminal activity of the 1920s and 1930s, the Federal Government chose to establish a maximum-security, minimum-privilege jail.

Interesting facts about Alcatraz Island

Here are some interesting facts about this impressive landmark:

• The prison operated for less than 30 years..
• During that time, several famous inmates were imprisoned there, such as Al Capone and  Machine Gun Kelly.
• The Alcatraz lighthouse was the first one on the West Coast.

Read more: Interesting facts about Alcatraz Island