Alcatraz History, Tours and Visiting Tips

Learn about Alcatraz history and get great tips to prepare for your visit to this historic San Francisco attraction.

Alcatraz Island is located in the middle of the San Francisco bay about a mile and a half off shore from Fisherman's Wharf. The name Alcatraz means 'pelican' in Spanish.

There are a number of places along the bay in San Francisco to take beautiful pictures of it. The one above was taken from one of the piers in Fisherman's Wharf.

Early Alcatraz History

The history of Alcatraz Island dates back to the mid-1850s. During this time it was established as a US military fort. It was used by the military to protect the San Francisco Bay and surrounding area.

It originally became a military prison in the early 1900s. It remained a military prison for a number of years. It was then turned over to the federal government. In 1934, the federal government turned it into a maximum security federal prison.

Alcatraz Prison, The Rock

From 1934 to 1963, Alcatraz was a federal prison that housed some of the most infamous prisoners including Al Capone, Robert Stroud and many others. Find out more about these prisoners, how they ended up in Alcatraz and other key facts about their lives on these pages: Biography of Al Capone and Robert Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz.

Inmates were transferred to Alcatraz when they were unruly and disobeyed at other prisons. During this time, it housed some of the toughest prisoners.

It was also termed "The Rock" by these prisoners. The perception of the prison was that no one could escape.

Rumors spread that sharks lived in the bay, so escaping by swimming to shore was undesirable. Sharks do live in the bay. However, they are smaller sharks and not the type of sharks that attack or harm people swimming in the water.

The prison was also set up to intimidate the prisoners into good behavior. Solitary confinement is located in the basement at Alcatraz. The guards took prisoners down through the stairs in cell block A and back up through cell block C.

The prisoners in cell block A would only see people go down. They wouldn't see prisoners come back up and that was a frightening thing for these new prisoners.

When you tour Alcatraz, you will hear all about the techniques to keep these tough criminals in line during their stay. The infamous Prisoners of Alcatraz and Inmate Life section provides more details about prison life on Alcatraz island and a quick overview of more of the infamous prisoners. The escapes from Alcatraz page has information on some of the most famous escape attempts and other infamous Alcatraz prisoners.

Even though the prison housed some of the most dangerous criminals in the world, there were a number of other people that also lived on the island. Many of the prison guards and their families lived in the island.

There was a school house on the island as well as other buildings for these families. There were no stores or anything, so families headed to San Francisco for their weekly shopping trips.

The Alcatraz history continues when the prison closed in 1963 after three prisoners escaped and where never found. Since it was no longer inescapable, this maximum security prison was closed and all of the prisoners moved to other facilities.

Indian Occupation of Alcatraz

No one occupied the island again until 1969. That year, members of the American Indian Movement moved onto the island to claim it as their island.

The Alcatraz history during this time period is still evident on the island today. During their two year occupation, they burned down a number of prison buildings and defaced a number of others. During your tour of the island, you will be able to easily spot the damage caused during this time on the island.

They were finally forced off the island in 1971.

Alcatraz Island Today

Alcatraz Island then became and is still part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This group maintains several of the large parks throughout the San Francisco Bay area including the Presidio and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Next to Alcatraz Island is another, larger island. This is Angel Island San Francisco and another great historical island in the San Francisco Bay.

Tours & Booking Information

Alcatraz Island is now open for tours almost every day of the year. You can visit and learn more about Alcatraz history during the day or night. My favorite is the night tour.

The Alcatraz Prison Tours page provides more details on the Alcatraz history tours available, the cost to visit, how to book and more. I also included some recommendations on when to visit, how far in advance to book and why I like the night tour.

I've also created a page with tips to prepare you to visit Alcatraz. I included information on how to get to the ferry, what to expect when you arrive and other tips for making your visit enjoyable.