Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island — From an abandoned prison to a fascinating experience of history. Abandoned by the Bureau of Prisons in 1963, Alcatraz came to the National Park Service in the early 1970’s as a deteriorated relic. Today it is an historic gem in the middle of San Francisco Bay.

Alcatraz is a vibrant National Park destination that welcomes over 3 million visitors a year and hosts thousands of park volunteers each month. The buildings, outdoor features and gardens were brought back to life through careful planning, design, engineering and reconstruction. The National Park Service and Parks Conservancy formed specialized teams to address physical infrastructure issues, visitor amenities, wayfinding and garden restoration. Cathie Barner and her NPS counterparts led years-long efforts to stabilize and repair key buildings and important features on the island.

After over 20 years and multiple millions of private and public funding the island is welcoming and safe for visitors. The award-winning audio tour continues to captivate visitors with stories of island life as told by the recorded voices of inmates and guards. The gardens are lush and painstakingly cared for by a well-trained core of volunteers. Native American culture and history are honored via stories and artifacts of the island’s 19-month occupation by Native activists, a watershed in the movement for Native American civil rights. In 2014 the island was the venue for a beautiful and thought-provoking art installation about incarceration by artist Ai Weiwei.