alcatraz

Alcatraz Island (/ˈælkəˌtræz/) is a small island about 1.25 miles offshore from San Francisco in San Francisco Bay, California, near the Golden Gate Strait. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military prison. In 1934, the island was converted into a federal prison, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. The strong tidal currents around the island and cold water temperatures made escape nearly impossible, giving the prison one of the most notorious reputations of its kind in American history. The prison closed on March 21, 1963, leaving the island a major tourist attraction today with nearly 1.4 million people visiting the island annually.

Beginning in November 1969, the island was occupied for more than 19 months by a group of Native Americans, initially primarily from San Francisco, who were later joined by the American Indian Movement and other urban Native Americans from other parts of the country, who were part of a wave of Native American activists organizing public protests across the US through the 1970s. In 1972, Alcatraz was transferred to the Department of Interior to become part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.