Alcatraz Island Alcatraz Island is located in the San Francisco Bay , offshore from San Francisco , California , United States . Often referred to as " The Rock " , the small island was developed with facilities for a lighthouse , a military fortification , a military prison ( 1868 ) , and a federal prison from 1933 until 1963 . Beginning in November 1969 , the island was occupied for more than 19 months by a group of Aboriginal peoples from San Francisco who were part of a wave of Native activism across the nation with public protests through the 1970s . In 1972 , Alcatraz became a national recreation area and received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1986 . Today , the island ' s facilities are managed by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area ; it is open to tours . Visitors can reach the island by ferry ride from Pier 33 , near Fisherman ' s Wharf , San Francisco . Hornblower Cruises and Events , operating under the name Alcatraz Cruises , is the official ferry provider to and from the island . Hornblower launched the nation ' s first hybrid propulsion ferry in 2008 , the Hornblower Hybrid , which now serves the island , docking at the Alcatraz Wharf . It is home to the abandoned prison , the site of the oldest operating lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States , early military fortification s , and natural features such as rock pool s and a seabird colony ( mostly Western Gull s , cormorant s , and egret s ) . According to a 1971 documentary on the History of Alcatraz , the island measures by and is at highest point during mean tide . However , the total area of the island is reported to be . Landmarks on the island include the Main Cellhouse , Dining Hall , Library , Lighthouse , the ruins of the Warden ' s House and Officers Club , Parade Grounds , Building 64 , Water Tower , New Industries Building , Model Industries Building , and the Recreation Yard . History . Native Americans kept well away from the island , calling it " Evil Island " and believing it to be cursed . The first Spaniard to document the island was Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775 , who charted San Francisco Bay and named one of the three islands he identified as the " La Isla de los Alcatraces , " which translates as " The Island of the Pelicans , " from the archaic Spanish " alcatraz " ( in English : " pelican " ) , a loan word from Arabic القطرس " al - qaṭrās " , meaning Albatross . Over the years , the English version " Alcatraz " became popular and is now widely used . In August 1827 , French Captain Auguste Bernard Duhaut - Cilly wrote " . . . running past Alcatraces ( 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 . " The California Brown Pelican ( " Pelecanus occidentalis californicus " ) is not known to nest on the island today . The Spanish put a few small buildings on the island , little else . Military garrison . The earliest recorded owner of the island of Alcatraz is Julian Workman , to whom it was given by Mexican governor Pio Pico in June , 1846 , with the understanding that Workman would build a lighthouse on it . Julian Workman is the baptismal name of William Workman , co - owner of Rancho La Puente and personal friend of Pio Pico . Later in 1846 , acting in his capacity as Military Governor of California , John C . Fremont , champion of Manifest Destiny and leader of the Bear Flag Republic , bought the island for $ 5 , 000 in the name of the United States government from Francis Temple . In 1850 , President Millard Fillmore ordered that Alcatraz Island be set aside specifically as a United States military reservation , for military purposes based upon the U . S . acquisition of California from Mexico following the Mexican - American War . Fremont 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 Fremont nothing . Fremont and his heirs sued for compensation during protracted but unsuccessful legal battles that extended into the 1890s . Following the acquisition of California by the United States as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( 1848 ) which ended the Mexican - American War , and the onset of the California Gold Rush the following year , the U . 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 of Zealous B . Tower , the United States Army Corps of Engineers began fortifying the island , work which continued until 1858 , eventuating in Fortress Alcatraz . The island ' s first garrison at Camp Alcatraz , numbering about 200 soldiers and 11 cannons , arrived at the end of that year . When the American Civil War broke out in 1861 the island mounted 85 cannons ( increased to 105 cannons by 1866 ) in casemates 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 of Confederate sympathizers . Alcatraz built as a " heavily fortified military site on the West Coast " formed a " triangle of defense " along with Fort Point and Lime Point , ensured security to the bay . The island was also the site of the first operational lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States . Alcatraz never fired its guns offensively , though during the war it was used to imprison Confederate sympathizers and privateer s on the west coast . Military prison . Because of its isolation from the outside by the cold , strong , hazardous currents of the waters of San Francisco Bay , Alcatraz was used to house Civil War prisoners as early as 1861 . Following the war in 1866 , the army determined that the fortifications and guns were being rapidly rendered obsolete by advances in military technology . 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 ) . 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 a long - term detention facility for military prisoners . Among those incarcerated at Alcatraz were confederates caught on the west coast , and some Hopi Native American men in the 1870s . In 1898 , the Spanish - American war increased the prison population from 26 to over 450 , and from 1905 to 1907 it was commanded by George W . McIver . After the 1906 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 . 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 . To accommodate the new cell block , the Citadel , a three - story barracks , was demolished down to the first floor , which was actually below ground level . The building had been constructed in an excavated pit ( creating a dry " moat " ) to enhance its defensive potential . The first floor was then incorporated as a basement to the new cell block , giving rise to the popular legend of " dungeons " below the main cell block . The Fortress was deactivated as a military prison in October 1933 and transferred to the Bureau of Prisons . During World War I , the prison held conscientious objectors , including Philip Grosser , who wrote a pamphlet entitled " Uncle Sam ' s Devil ' s Island " about his experiences . Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary . The United States Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz was acquired by the United States Department of Justice on October 12 , 1933 , and the island became a Federal Bureau of Prisons federal prison in August 1934 . Alcatraz was designed to hold prisoners who continuously caused trouble at other federal prisons . At 9 : 40 am in the morning of August 11 , 1934 , the first batch of 137 prisoners arrived at Alcatraz , arriving by railroad from the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth , Kansas at Santa Venetia , California , before being escorted to Alcatraz , handcuffed in high security coaches and guarded by some 60 special FBI agents , U . S . Marshals and railway security officials . Most of the prisoners were notorious bank robbers and murderers . The prison initially had a staff of 155 , including the first warden James A . Johnston and associate warden J . E . Shuttleworth , both considered to be " iron men " . The staff were highly trained in security , but not rehabilitation . During the 29 years it was in use , the jail held some of the most notorious criminals in American history , such as Al Capone , Robert Franklin Stroud ( the Birdman of Alcatraz ) , George " Machine Gun " Kelly , Bumpy Johnson , Rafael Cancel Miranda ( a member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party who attacked the United States Capitol building in 1954 ) , Mickey Cohen , Arthur R . " Doc " Barker , James " Whitey " Bulger , and Alvin " Creepy " Karpis ( who served more time at Alcatraz than any other inmate ) . It also provided housing for the Bureau of Prisons staff and their families . During its 29 years of operation , the penitentiary claimed that no prisoner successfully escaped . A total of 36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts , two men trying twice ; 23 were caught , six were shot and killed during their escape , two drowned , and five are listed as " missing and presumed drowned " . The most violent occurred on May 2 , 1946 , when a failed escape attempt by six prisoners led to the Battle of Alcatraz . On June 11 , 1962 , Frank Morris , John Anglin , and Clarence Anglin carried out one of the most intricate escapes ever devised . Post - prison years . Because 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 ) , and half a century of salt water saturation had severely eroded the buildings , then Attorney General Robert F . Kennedy ordered the penitentiary closed on March 21 , 1963 . In addition , citizens were increasingly protesting the environmental effects of sewage released into San Francisco Bay from the approximately 250 inmates and 60 Bureau of Prisons families on the island . That year , the United States Penitentiary in Marion , Illinois , on land , opened as the replacement facility for Alcatraz . Native American occupation . Alcatraz Island was occupied by Native American activists for the first time on March 8 , 1964 . The event was reported by , among others , the " San Francisco Chronicle " and the " San Francisco Examiner " . Beginning on November 20 , 1969 , a group of Native Americans called United 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 Indians who had resettled in the city as part of an urbanization program encouraged by the Bureau of Indian Affairs ( BIA ) from the 1930s to the 1950s . The BIA hoped to give Indians new opportunities in the cities , as many Indian reservations were isolated from job markets . The occupiers , who stayed on the island for nearly two years , demanded 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 the Treaty of Fort Laramie ( 1868 ) between the U . S . 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 it was acquired . ( Note : The Treaty of 1868 stated that all abandoned or unused federal land adjacent to the Great Sioux Reservation could be reclaimed by descendants of the Sioux Nation . ) Indians of All Tribes then claimed Alcatraz Island by the " Right of Discovery " , as indigenous peoples knew it thousands of years before any Europeans had come to North America . Begun by urban Indians of San Francisco , the occupation attracted other Native Americans from across the country , including American Indian Movement ( AIM ) urban activists from Minneapolis . The Native Americans demanded reparation for the many treaties broken by the US government and for the lands which were taken from so many tribes . In discussing the Right of Discovery , the historian Troy R . Johnson states in " The Occupation of Alcatraz Island " , that indigenous peoples knew about Alcatraz at least 10 , 000 years before any European knew about any part of North America . Native Americans objected to federal policies such as intense pressure to send their children to boarding schools . They cited the Moqui Hopi in 1895 , who were held as military prisoners by the US . The U . S . government offered to release the people if they agreed to send their children to U . S . Indian schools . The Hopi refused , believing this would cause their culture to deteriorate and force assimilation . The effect of the policy was to break any positive relations the Hopi may have built with the U . S . government . 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 recreation hall , the Coast Guard quarters and the warden ' s home . The origin of the fires is disputed . The U . S . government demolished a number of other buildings ( mostly apartments ) after the occupation had ended . Graffiti from the period of Native American occupation are still visible at many locations on the island . During the occupation , President Richard Nixon rescinded the Indian termination policy , designed by earlier administrations to end federal recognition of tribes and their special relationship with the US government . He established a new policy of self - determination , in part as a result of the publicity and awareness created by the occupation . The occupation ended on June 11 , 1971 . Following a succession of demands at Alcatraz , the U . S . government returned excess , unused land to the Taos , Yakama , Navajo and Washoe tribes . In 2011 a permanent multimedia exhibit was opened on Alcatraz examining the 19 - month occupation . Located in the former band practice room in a cellblock in the basement , the space serves as the cultural center the Native American occupiers requested upon their occupation . The exhibit , called " We Are Still Here , " features photos , videos and sound recordings gathered by staff and students at San Francisco State University and California State University , East Bay . Curators of the exhibit interviewed descendents of occupation leader Richard Oakes , and others who participated . Landmarks . The entire Alcatraz Island was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 , and was further declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986 . In 1993 , the National Park Service published a plan entitled " Alcatraz Development Concept and Environmental Assessment . " This plan , approved in 1980 , doubled the amount of Alcatraz accessible to the public to enable visitors to enjoy its scenery and bird , marine , and animal life . Development . Today , American Indian groups , such as the International Indian Treaty Council , hold ceremonies on the island , most notably , their " Sunrise Gatherings " every Columbus Day and Thanksgiving Day . The Global Peace Foundation proposed to raze the prison and build a peace center in its place . During the previous year , supporters collected 10 , 350 signatures that placed it on the presidential primary ballots in San Francisco for February 5 , 2008 . The proposed plan was estimated at US $ 1 billion . For the plan to pass , Congress would have had 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 . On February 6 , 2008 , the Alcatraz Island Global Peace Center Proposition C failed to pass , with 72 % of voters rejecting the proposition . Fauna and flora . Flora . 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 that had been believed to be extinct , have been discovered and propagated . Many species of roses , succulents , and geraniums 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 . In popular culture . Alcatraz Island appears often in media and popular culture , including films dating from 1962 " The Book of Eli " ( 2010 ) , " " ( 2006 ) , " Catch Me If You Can " ( 2002 ) , " The Rock " ( 1996 ) , " Murder in the First " ( 1995 ) , " Escape from Alcatraz " ( 1979 ) , " Birdman of Alcatraz " ( 1962 ) , and J . J . Abrams ' 2012 television series " Alcatraz " . It also was featured in the animated series " Yu - Gi - Oh ! " , in the book " Al Capone Does My Shirts " and in the video game Call of Duty : Black Ops II in a downloadable zombie survival map called " Mob of the Dead . " it is also featured as a playable racetrack in the 1996 arcade racing video game . Alcatraz has also been often portrayed as a safe haven or base of operations in many post - apocalyptic movies , such as " The Book of Eli " . Alcatraz gets flattened by the crashing Starship Vengeance in Star Trek Into Darkness ( 2013 ) .