Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.
For families
How to send mail, money, and visit Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Step-by-step guidance using the United States system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.
Gallery
From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).
Photo by Yolanl via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Photo by Slyronit via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo by Slyronit via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Photo by Anthony J. Bentley via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Photo by Zann Cannon Goff via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photo by Gianluca Cogoli via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
Photo by General Services Administration. Public Buildings Service. via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by kevinmcgill from Den Bosch, Netherlands via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Background
United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, also known simply as Alcatraz (English: , Spanish: [alkaËtɾas] "the gannet") or The Rock, was a maximum security federal prison on Alcatraz Island, 1.25 miles (2.01 km) off the coast of San Francisco, California, United States. The site of a fort since the 1850s, the main prison building was built from 1910 to 1912 as a U.S. Army military prison. The United States Department of Justice acquired the United States Disciplinary Barracks, Pacific Branch, on Alcatraz on October 12, 1933. The island became adapted and used as a prison of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in August 1934 after the buildings were modernized and security increased. Given this high security and the island's location in the cold waters and strong currents of San Francisco Bay, prison operators believed Alcatraz to be escape-proof and America's most secure prison.
Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.
Capacity
312
Current population
—
Occupancy
—
Year opened
1934
Closed 1963
Figures from official sources · verified 29 May 2026 · methodology
Facility profile
Operator
Federal Bureau of PrisonsPopulation held
Mixed/unknown
Opened
1934
Region
—
Security level
Maximum
Death-row facility
No
Conditions
No conditions summary available yet.
Visiting
No visiting information available.
Mailing
No mailing information available.
Practical info
Contact the operator's website for inmate-specific procedures.
Known issues
No major issues documented in our database.
Notable inmates
- Floyd Hamilton1913–1943
Morton Sobell1917–2018 · engineerMorton Sobell (April 11, 1917 â December 26, 2018) was an American engineer and Soviet spy during and after World War II; he was charged as part of a conspiracy which included Julius Rosenberg and his wife, Ethel Rosenberg.
Harold Brest1914–1943
Henri Young1911 · criminalHenri Theodore Young (born June 20, 1911 â disappeared 1972) was an American convicted bank robber and murderer who, while serving one of a series of prison terms, attempted to escape from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary with four other inmates in 1939.
James Boarman1919–1943 · criminal.jpg)
Victor Lustig1890–1947 · con artistVictor Lustig (German pronunciation: [ËvɪktoËÉ̯ ËlÊstɪç]; 4 January 1890 â 11 March 1947) was a con artist from Austria-Hungary, who undertook a criminal career that involved conducting scams across Europe and the United States during the early 20th century.
Arthur Barker1899–1939 · criminalArthur Raymond "Doc" Barker (June 4, 1899 â January 13, 1939) was an American criminal, the son of Ma Barker and a member of the Barker-Karpis gang, founded by his brother Fred Barker and Alvin Karpis.
John Anglin1930–1962 · criminalOn the night of June 11, 1962, inmates Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin escaped from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, the maximum-security prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, California, United States.
Showing 9 of 12. Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.
Contact & address
Conditions Risk Score
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
Related facilities
Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
- Rikers IslandEast Elmhurst, NYMixedLocal jail42% occupancy
- Franklin County Detention FacilitySt. AlbansMaximumCounty jail660% occupancy
- Gallia County JailGallipolisCounty jail336% occupancy
- Noble County JailCaldwellCounty jail542% occupancy
- Woodman State JailGatesvilleMaximumState prison720% occupancy
- Stark County JailToulonCounty jail3446% occupancy
Compared to other facilities in United States
7436 peersData completeness
38%How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikidata (Q1142661)
- Wikipedia
- Wikimedia Commons
- See /data-sources for our overall methodology.
Cite this page
Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.
World Prisons. (2026). Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Retrieved October 15, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/alcatraz-federal-penitentiary
"Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary." World Prisons. Accessed October 15, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/alcatraz-federal-penitentiary.
@misc{worldprisons-alcatraz-federal-penitentia,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary},
year = {2026},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/alcatraz-federal-penitentiary},
urldate = {2026-10-15}
}