Alcatraz Island in San Francisco

History of Alcatraz Island

Long before Alcatraz Island was the maximum-security penitentiary it came to be, it was the home of the first lighthouse built on the West Coast, dating back to 1854. The original lighthouse was replaced half a century later by a 95-ft-tall lighthouse, which continued to guide ships through the bay up until the present day. You can find the lighthouse near the entrance to the penitentiary museum.

Alcatraz also served as a citadel for the U.S. Army known as ‘Fort Alcatraz’ at the time. The huge concrete penitentiary block was later built around 1911, and through a series of improvements several decades later, it was to be known as the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary.

Touring Alcatraz Island

You can easily see Alcatraz Island, together with its lighthouse and penitentiary block, from afar using the coin-operated binocular telescopes from Pier 39. However, nothing compares to experiencing the island on an actual tour. Visiting Alcatraz is well worth your time as you can get a true sense of this historical site that can be as insightful and educational as it is suspenseful and spine-tingling at times.

There are several Alcatraz tour operators, but Alcatraz Cruises is the official concessioner to the Alcatraz Island U.S. National Park Service. The tours and the island itself are universally accessible, with everything from hearing aids and videos using American Sign Language to accessible parking, restrooms, and streetcars.

After docking at the island, you enter the Cell House where an elevator takes you up to the 2^nd storey for a guided tour around the site. You get to learn about the famous and unsolved escape of 1962, which involved island inmates and notorious bank robbers, Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin. Another notorious inmate that Alcatraz is known for is the kingpin, Alphonse Gabriel “Scarface” Capone.

Some sections of the penitentiary easily show you how gray the life of an inmate would be in the ‘inescapable penitentiary’. There were over a dozen attempts to escape Alcatraz in between the 1930s and 1960s but none were officially recorded as being successful. Most who attempted were either captured or died by drowning. Some believed the inmates of the famous escape actually drowned.

Add to those grim tales some eerie Native American legends about malevolent spirits inhabiting the island, and you’re in for a different kind of thrill on an Alcatraz Island tour. Note that centuries of mystery and mischief has helped the island earn its place among the most haunted places in California.

Views around Alcatraz Island

You can check out the barracks, known as Building 64, which houses a theater that screens documentaries of the penitentiary island and hosts various exhibits. There are several points around the island offering stunning coastal views. However, most of the walkways around the island tend to be steep, with some of the points set far and wide. Several trails lead you to panoramic viewpoints looking out to San Francisco from across the Bay.