San Francisco - Alcatraz Island

The historic and notorious Alcatraz penitentiary, located on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay, makes for a thoroughly interesting outing. The prison operated for almost thirty years, closing in 1963 and re-opening as a tourist attraction in 1973. While it operated it was known for housing some of America's most infamous prisoners, including Al Capone and the "Birdman" who would later formed the basis for the fictional movie The Birdman of Alcatraz.

Visitors take a ferry over to the island where they can tour the site with an audio recording. The audio recording is very well done, and gives a glimpse into life in the prison, rather than just an historical run through of the facts. The narration is even done by former inmates and guards of Alcatraz.

While most people come for the history or the novelty of seeing a former prison, the island is now a prominent area for nesting sea birds. If you are interested in bird watching, this is one more reason to take a trip to "The Rock" as the island is often called.
The former penitentiary of Alcatraz, located 1.5mi/2.5km northeast in San Francisco Bay, is one of the most fascinating places to visit. The first Spaniard to land there, Ayala, named it Isla de los Alcatraces ("Islands of the Pelicans"), because he found vast numbers of these birds nesting on the sandstone island.

As this rocky island, covering an area of some 12acres/5hectares and rising to a height of 135ft/41m, has no springs, it remained uninhabited for years. In 1853, during the California gold-rush when the number of ships visiting the foggy bay increased considerably, a lighthouse was erected. Soon afterwards the island was fortified and became a military prison during the Civil War (1861-65). From 1933 to 1963 it became the most infamous and feared of all federal prisons in the USA. Even the most incorrigible jail-breakers hardly ever succeeded in escaping.

In the course of its 30 year existence the penitentiary received a total of 1,576 convicts. There were never more than 250 at any one time, even though there were 450 cells measuring about 10x4ft/sx1.5m. At times the number of guards, etc. was greater than that of the convicts.

After the prison was closed the island was virtually forgotten for six years until it was taken over by Indians who squatted there for seven years.