Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island is a small island in San Francisco Bay, about 1.25 miles offshore from San Francisco, California. Developed in the mid-19th century for a lighthouse, military fortification and military prison, it became Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in 1934. The prison closed in 1963. The island was occupied by Native American activists for more than 19 months beginning in 1969, and became part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1972.

Location

San Francisco Bay, California, United States

Federal prison period

1934 to 1963

National Historic Landmark

Designated in 1986