Alcatraz Island:
The US President recently directed his administration to rebuild and enlarge Alcatraz, the infamous prison that has been shuttered for more than 60 years on a remote California island off the coast of San Francisco.
- Alcatraz Island, also known as ‘The Rock,’ a rocky island in San Francisco Bay, off the coast of California, in the United States.
- It occupies an area of 22 acres (9 hectares).
- Sold in 1849 to the U.S. government, Alcatraz was the site of the first lighthouse (1854) on the coast of California.
- In 1859 the first permanent army troops were stationed at Alcatraz.
- Two years later it became a military prison.
- In 1907 it was named the Pacific Branch of the U.S. Military Prison.
- The army left the island in 1933.
- Alcatraz served as a federal (national) prison from 1934 to 1963.
- The prison was able to hold more than 330 convicts in the cells, however, it was rare for more than 260 prisoners to occupy the island at one time.
- Eventually, the cost of maintaining the prison resulted in its closing in March 1963.
- In 1972 Alcatraz became part of the newly created Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It is now open to the public and is a popular tourist destination.
