Alcatraz - The Rock, San Francisco

aerial photo of alcatraz island prison san francisco united states
Alcatraz, San Francisco Bay, California, United States. Alcatraz has had a number of uses during its life. It started as a lighthouse island, moving to become a military fortification, followed by a military prison. But Alcatraz's most famous use was as a civilian prison which housed some of America's most famous criminals. The civilian prison of Alcatraz, opened in 1934 and was closed in 1963 by Robert F. Kennedy. At most it could accommodate 300 people, and was often full.

Officially, no prisoner ever successfully escaped from Alcatraz, although there is still speculation that 3 inmates, Frank Morris, and brothers John Anglin and Clarence Anglin escaped in 1962. The official line is that they all drowned.

Some of the most famous prisoners to stay at Alcatraz were Robert Stroud, Al Capone and George "Machine Gun" Kelly.