Alcatraz. The name alone conjures images of hardened criminals, daring escapes, and the cold, unrelenting waters of San Francisco Bay. Popular culture has painted “The Rock” as a hellish fortress of ...

The island off San Francisco housed famous criminals, including Al Capone, in the mid-20th century. Now a National Historic Landmark, it's a tourist attraction with over a million annual visitors. San ...

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary officially closed on March 21, 1963, after 29 years of operation. It remains one of the most famous prisons in the world and has become one of the most popular National ...

Alcatraz Island, a military fort turned an army prison in the San Francisco Bay, is most well known for operating as a federal prison from 1934 until 1963. That distinction is being challenged after ...

One of Alcatraz’s most well-known prisoners left the famed island penitentiary in San Francisco Bay for the last time 87 years ago today on Jan. 6, 1939, for medical reasons. Eight years later, former ...

On March 21, 1963 Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, the world-famous maximum-security prison located on a cold island in the San Francisco Bay, officially closed its doors. As the last 27 inmates were ...

Watch recordings of recent KQED Live events. Donor-Advised Funds Support KQED by using your donor-advised fund to make a charitable gift. As all good Bay Area history nerds know, Alcatraz Prison ...