Alcatraz

Alcatraz or “Isle of the Pelicans” as named by Spanish explorers, is just 1.4 miles from San Francisco. This infamous prison surrounded by lore, treacherous waters, and a dark romance began as a military fort and lockup during the Civil War era and became a federal prison in 1934 when authorities needed an isolated facility to hold gangsters that emerged during the Great Depression. Famous inmates included Al Capone, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, Mickey Cohen and Robert Franklin Stroud or the “Birdman of Alcatraz.”