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Interesting Facts

7 Fascinating Facts About Alcatraz

a large building sitting on top of a hill next to a body of water

In 1775, Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala became the first European to sail into San Francisco Bay. He named the island “Alcatraces,” a word widely believed to mean “pelican” or “strange bird” in archaic Spanish.

Historically, California brown pelicans were abundant on the island, so much so that one 19th-century French observer noted that their mass takeoffs created winds “like a hurricane.” Though their population later declined due to hunting and pesticide use, the species rebounded and was removed from the Endangered Species List in 2009.

Long before it became a prison, Alcatraz was a key military defense site. After California joined the U.S. in 1850, the military established a fortified outpost to protect San Francisco Bay, particularly during the California Gold Rush. Alcatraz, along with Fort Point and Lime Point, formed a "triangle of defense" at the bay’s entrance. The island was once armed with 100 cannons, making it the most heavily fortified military outpost in the Western U.S. By the end of the 1850s, Alcatraz’s military role shifted as prisoners were brought to the island, including Confederate prisoners and Union deserters during the Civil War.

2. Alcatraz Was Originally a Military Outpost

1. "Alcatraz" Means "Pelican" in Archaic Spanish

Credit: Sebastian Jakimczuk/ iStock

Credit: CHROMORANGE / Bastian Kienitz/ Alamy Stock Photo

When Alcatraz became a federal prison in 1934, it was designed for the most difficult federal inmates, reinforcing the government’s tough stance on crime. However, conditions weren’t as brutal as its reputation suggested.

The first warden ensured high-quality meals to prevent riots.
Menus in the 1940s included dishes like bacon jambalaya and pork roast.
Prisoners had their own cells, unlike in many overcrowded federal prisons.
Good behavior earned privileges, including work assignments and access to musical instruments.

Alcatraz’s reputation was so strong that some inmates requested transfers to "The Rock" from other prisons, seeing it as a more structured and livable environment.

In 1852, during its time as a military outpost, Alcatraz became home to the first lighthouse on the U.S. West Coast.

However, construction delays meant that the lighthouse’s Fresnel lens (which amplified its brightness) didn’t arrive until 1854. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake severely damaged the lighthouse, but it was later rebuilt and remains operational today.

4. Prison Life at Alcatraz Wasn’t Always Terrible

3. Alcatraz Had the First Lighthouse on the U.S. West Coast

Of 14 escape attempts, all failed—except for one infamous case in 1962, which inspired the 1979 film Escape from Alcatraz.

On June 12, 1962, three inmates were discovered missing. In a Hollywood-style trick, they had left behind papier-mâché heads in their beds to fool the night guards.

Using homemade life vests, they attempted to swim across the bay to San Francisco. The FBI later found their vests and scattered personal items, but never located the men themselves.

Authorities believe they drowned, but no bodies were ever recovered.
The FBI closed the case in 1979, but the U.S. Marshals Service still investigates.

One of Alcatraz’s most famous inmates, Al Capone, was imprisoned there as Prisoner 85 after being convicted of tax evasion in 1931.

Despite his violent past as leader of the Chicago Outfit, Capone spent his Alcatraz years playing banjo in the prison band, The Rock Islanders. He also wrote love songs, including a piece titled “Humoresque”, which sold at auction for $18,750 in 2017.

By the time of his release in 1939, Capone’s health had severely declined due to untreated syphilis.

After the prison closed in 1963, Alcatraz became a symbol of Native American activism.

In November 1969, activist Richard Oakes and a group of Indigenous people seized the island, citing the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, which allowed tribes to reclaim abandoned federal land.
The occupation peaked at 600 people, but by early 1970, food and supplies ran low.
In June 1971, U.S. marshals forcibly removed the last 15 occupiers.

This highly publicized protest drew attention to Native American rights, leading President Richard Nixon to end the government’s policy of tribal termination in 1970. It was one of the first major intertribal protests in modern Native American activism.

6. No One Has Officially Escaped from Alcatraz (Probably)

5. Al Capone Wrote Love Songs While at Alcatraz

7. Native Americans Occupied Alcatraz for 19 Months

Conclusion

From military stronghold to federal prison to Native American protest site, Alcatraz has played a pivotal role in U.S. history. Today, its legacy lives on as one of the most visited landmarks in the San Francisco Bay Area, attracting those eager to explore its dark and fascinating past.