Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay hasn’t been used as a prison for 60 years. Now, President Trump wants to reopen it. Here’s a brief history of the island.
SAN FRANCISCO — President Donald Trump says he’s directing his government to reopen and expand Alcatraz, the notorious former prison on a California island that’s been closed for more than 60 years.
Alcatraz housed more than 1,500 prisoners when it was used as a federal prison from 1934-1963. Famous prisoners included Al Capone and Robert Stroud, who became known as the Birdman of Alcatraz.
Here’s a quick look back at the history of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, from most recent to its start.
- 2025: President Trump announces intent to reopen Alcatraz for prisoners.
- 1979: “Escape from Alcatraz” movie released.
- 1973: Public tours begin at Alcatraz.
- 1972: Alcatraz was included in the National Park Service’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
- 1962: Brothers John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris make their famous escape that was later chronicled in the Clint Eastwood movie “Escape from Alcatraz.”
- 1969: Native American activists occupy the island for 19 months.
- 1963: The prison closes.
- 1946: Prisoners riot in “Battle of Alcatraz.”
- 1934: Federal prison opens.
- 1933: The U.S Department of Justice takes over the island for prison use.
- 1909: The U.S. military begins construction of a new prison on the island.
- 1868: Alcatraz Island begins to be used as a disciplinary barracks for the U.S. military.
- 1859: Troops become permanently stationed on the island.
- 1854: Alcatraz lighthouse constructed, becoming the first operational lighthouse on the west coast of the United States.
- 1850: President Millard Fillmore identifies the island for military use.
Trump’s Plans
In a post on his Truth Social site Sunday evening, Trump wrote, “For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering. When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
“That is why, today,” he said, “I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.”
Trump’s directive to rebuild and reopen the long-shuttered penitentiary was the latest salvo in his effort to overhaul how and where federal prisoners and immigration detainees are locked up. But such a move would likely be an expensive and challenging proposition. The prison was closed in 1963 due to crumbling infrastructure and the high costs of repairing and supplying the island facility, because everything from fuel to food had to be brought by boat.
Bringing the facility up to modern-day standards would require massive investments at a time when the Bureau of Prisons has been shuttering prisons for similar infrastructure issues.
The prison — infamously inescapable due to the strong ocean currents and cold Pacific waters surrounding it — was known as the “The Rock” and housed some of the nation’s most notorious criminals, including gangster Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly.
It has long been part of the cultural imagination and has been the subject of numerous movies, including “The Rock” starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage.
Still in the 29 years it was open, 36 men attempted 14 separate escapes, according to the FBI. Nearly all were caught or didn’t survive the attempt.
The fate of three particular inmates — John Anglin, his brother Clarence and Frank Morris — is of some debate and was dramatized in the 1979 film “Escape from Alcatraz” starring Clint Eastwood.
Alcatraz Island is now a major tourist site operated by the National Park Service and is a designated National Historic Landmark.
Trump, returning to the White House Sunday night after a weekend in Florida, said he’d come up with the idea because of frustrations with “radicalized judges” who have insisted those being deported receive due process. Alcatraz, he said, has long been a “symbol of law and order. You know, it’s got quite a history.”
A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement the agency “will comply with all Presidential Orders.” The spokesperson did not immediately answer questions from The Associated Press regarding the practicality and feasibility of reopening Alcatraz or the agency’s role in the future of the former prison given the National Park Service’s control of the island.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat whose district includes the island, questioned the feasibility of reopening the prison after so many years.
“It is now a very popular national park and major tourist attraction. The President’s proposal is not a serious one,” she wrote on X.
The island serves as a veritable time machine to a bygone era of corrections. The Bureau of Prisons currently has 16 penitentiaries performing the same high-security functions as Alcatraz, including its maximum security facility in Florence, Colorado, and the U.S. penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, which is home to the federal death chamber.
ALCATRAZ HISTORY: Alcatraz Restoration Project Reveals History.
ABC10: Watch, Download, Read
Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
