Vintage 1936 Alcatraz Island United States Penitentiary Vintage Original Photo

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Seller: memorabilia111 ✉️ (807) 100%, Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 176257077115 VINTAGE 1936 ALCATRAZ ISLAND UNITED STATES PENITENTIARY VINTAGE ORIGINAL PHOTO. Must pass within a mile; and the center of the city is. profile of the single story, parapeted guardhouse. 1849 25,000 +2400.0%. 1848 1,000 —. Historical population. Aerial view of the Presidio of San Francisco and the Golden Gate. ALCATRAZ ISLAND VINTAGE ORIGINAL PHOTO FROM 1936 MEASURING 6 1/2 X 8 1/2 INCHES Alcatraz Island (/ˈælkəˌtræz/) is a small island 1.25 miles (2.01 km) offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. 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 currents around the island and cold water temperatures made escape nearly impossible, and the prison became one of the most notorious in American history. The prison closed in 1963, and the island is now a major tourist attraction. |23597 --ATCH YOUR CRED| T- INTERNATIONAL NEWS PHOTOS---SAN FRANCISCO BUREAU SLUG (ALCATRAZ ISLAND) ALCATRAZ ISLAND, CALIFORNIA,PITCHED BATTLES BETWEEN GUARDS AND RIOTING PRISONERS AT THE HEIGHT OF A MUTINY OF 100 FEDERAL FELONS WERE REVEALED TODAY IN REpOrTS FRoM Grim ALcaTRAZ ISLAnD PEniTEntiARy, In THE BAY. CLUBS WERE BROUGHT DOWN ON RINGLEADERS OF THE MEN WHO REFUSED TO WORK IN THE LAUNDRY AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS… LAUNDRY WHICH DOES THE WASHING FOR ARMY TRANSPORTS, OnE Of WHich WAS HelD up TODaY BEcaUsE of tHE StRike. LEADING CONVICT AGITATORS,IT WAS REVEALED 'IN WASHING- ARE DUNGEONED TODAY WITHOUT EVEN BREAD OR WATER. ALL BUREAUS--LIST N-C-D-(C) 1-22-36 CENTRAL PRESS ASSOCIATION JAN 20 REFERENCE DEPT


Alcatraz Island (/ˈælkəˌtræz/) is a small island 1.25 miles (2.01 km) offshore from San Francisco, California, United States.[1] 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 currents around the island and cold water temperatures made escape nearly impossible, and the prison became one of the most notorious in American history.[4] The prison closed in 1963, and the island is now a major tourist attraction. 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 AIM and other urban Indians 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. Today, the island's facilities are managed by the National Park Service as part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Visitors can reach the island by ferry ride from Pier 33, located between the San Francisco Ferry Building and Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco. Hornblower Cruises, operating under the name Alcatraz Cruises, is the official ferry provider to and from the island. Alcatraz Island is the site of the abandoned federal prison, the oldest operating lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States, early military fortifications, and natural features such as rock pools and a seabird colony (mostly western gulls, cormorants, and egrets). According to a 1971 documentary on the history of Alcatraz, the island measures 1,675 feet (511 m) by 590 feet (180 m) and is 135 feet (41 m) at highest point during mean tide.[5] The total area of the island is reported to be 22 acres (8.9 ha).[1] Landmarks on the island include the Main Cellhouse, Dining Hall, Lighthouse, the ruins of the Warden's House and Social Hall, Parade Grounds, Building 64, Water Tower, New Industries Building, Model Industries Building, and the Recreation Yard. History Alcatraz Island, 1895 Alcatraz in the dawn mist, from the east. The "parade ground" is at left. Alcatraz Island and lighthouse at sunset The water tower and powerhouse (at right), which generated electricity for the island A model of Military Point Alcatraz, 1866–1868, now on display at Alcatraz Island Model of the prison in present day, on display at Alcatraz Island The first European to document the islands of San Francisco Bay was Spanish naval officer and explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala during Spanish rule of California; he charted San Francisco Bay in 1775. He named today's Yerba Buena Island as "La Isla de los Alcatraces", which translates as "The Island of the Gannets" but is commonly believed to translate as "The Island of the Pelicans" (the modern Spanish word for 'pelican' is pelícano),[6][7][8][9][10][11] from the archaic Spanish alcatraz ("pelican"). There are no gannets native to the Pacific coast, making the older Spanish usage more likely. Yerba Buena Island was labeled on Ayala's 1775 chart of San Francisco Bay as "Isla de Alcatraces". The name was later applied to the rock now known as Alcatraz Island by Captain Frederick W. Beechey, an English naval officer and explorer.[12] Over the years, the Spanish version "Alcatraz" became popular and is now widely used. In August 1827, for instance, French Captain Auguste Bernard Duhaut-Cilly wrote "... running past Alcatraze's (Pelicans) Island ... covered with a countless number of these birds. A gun fired over the feathered legions caused them to fly up in a great cloud and with a noise like a hurricane."[13] The California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) is not known to nest on the island today. The Spanish built several small buildings on the island and other minor structures.[5] Fort Alcatraz Main article: Fort Alcatraz The earliest recorded private owner of the island of Alcatraz is Julian Workman, to whom it was given by Mexican governor Pio Pico in June 1846, with the understanding that Workman would build a lighthouse on it.[14] Julian Workman is the baptismal name of William Workman, co-owner of Rancho La Puente and a personal friend of Pio Pico. Later in 1846, acting in his capacity as Military Governor of California, John C. Frémont bought the island for $5,000 in the name of the United States government from Francis Temple.[5][15][16] In 1850, President Millard Fillmore ordered that Alcatraz Island be set aside specifically as a United States military reservation,[10] for military purposes based upon the U.S. acquisition of California from Mexico following the Mexican–American War.[17] Frémont had expected a large compensation for his initiative in purchasing and securing Alcatraz Island for the U.S. government, but the U.S. government later invalidated the sale and paid Frémont nothing. Frémont and his heirs sued for compensation during protracted but unsuccessful legal battles that extended into the 1890s.[17] The lighthouse tower adjacent to the prison cell house Following the acquisition of California by the United States as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), which ended the Mexican–American War, and the onset of the California Gold Rush the following year, the U.S. Army began studying the suitability of Alcatraz Island for the positioning of coastal batteries to protect the approaches to San Francisco Bay. In 1853, under the direction of Zealous B. Tower, the United States Army Corps of Engineers began fortifying the island, work which continued until 1858, when the initial version of Fort Alcatraz was complete. The island's first garrison, numbering about 200 soldiers, arrived at the end of that year. When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, the island mounted 85 cannons (increased to 105 cannons by 1866) in casemates around its perimeter, though the small size of the garrison meant only a fraction of the guns could be used at one time. At this time it also served as the San Francisco Arsenal for storage of firearms to prevent them falling into the hands of Confederate sympathizers.[18] Alcatraz, built as a "heavily fortified military site on the West Coast", was to form a "triangle of defense" with Fort Point and Lime Point, but the contemplated work on Lime Point was never built. The first operational lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States was also built on Alcatraz. During the war, Fort Alcatraz was used to imprison Confederate sympathizers and privateers on the west coast, but its guns were never fired at an enemy.[19] Studies of the island and its fortifications have included archeological surveys relying on contemporary technology. In 2019 "Binghamton University archaeologist Timothy de Smet and colleagues located historical remains beneath the former recreation yard of the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary." Using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data and georectifications, Smet and colleagues discovered structures, including "a 'bombproof' earthwork traverse along with its underlying vaulted brick masonry tunnel and ventilation ducts," in surprisingly good condition.[20] Archaeologists also found the remains of ammunition magazines, and tunnels below the penitentiary that was built later.[21][22] Because of the isolation created by the cold, strong currents of the waters of San Francisco Bay, as early as 1859, Alcatraz was used to house soldiers convicted of crimes. By 1861, the fort was the military prison for the Department of the Pacific. It housed Civil War prisoners of war (POWs) as early as that year.[citation needed] Alcatraz citadel built in the early 1850s; 1908 photo Starting in 1863, the military also held private citizens accused of treason, after the writ of habeas corpus in the United States was suspended. Hundreds of troops were trained on the island, with more than 350 military personnel in place by April 1861. As enlistees were assigned to units, new green troops reported for training. In early 1865, the number of men reached 433, the peak of the war.[23] During the Civil War-era, rapid changes in artillery and fortification were generated. Alcatraz's defenses were obsolete by the postwar years. Modernization efforts, including an ambitious plan to level the entire island and construct shell-proof underground magazines and tunnels, were undertaken between 1870 and 1876 but never completed (the so-called "parade ground" on the southern tip of the island represents the extent of the flattening effort).[24] Instead, the army switched the focus of its plans for Alcatraz from coastal defense to detention, a task for which it was well suited because of its isolation. In 1867, a brick jailhouse was built (previously inmates had been kept in the basement of the guardhouse), and in 1868, Alcatraz was officially designated as a long-term detention facility for military prisoners. The facility was later discontinued for Prisoners of War in 1846[dubious – discuss]. Among those incarcerated at Alcatraz were Confederates caught on the West Coast[5] and some Hopi Native American men in the 1870s, who refused orders to send their children away from their families to Indian boarding schools.[25] In 1898, due to the Spanish–American War, the prison population rose from 26 to over 450. From 1905 to 1907 it was commanded by U.S. Army General George W. McIver. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, civilian prisoners were transferred to Alcatraz for safe confinement. On March 21, 1907, Alcatraz was officially designated as the Western U.S. Military Prison, later Pacific Branch, U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, 1915.[18] In 1909 construction began on the huge concrete main cell block, designed by Major Reuben Turner, which remains the island's dominant feature. It was completed in 1912.[18] To accommodate the new cell block, the Citadel, a three-story barracks, was demolished down to the first floor, which was below ground level. The building had been constructed in an excavated pit, creating a defensive dry moat. The first floor was incorporated as a basement to the new cell block, giving rise to the popular legend of "dungeons" below the main cell block. The US Disciplinary Barracks was deactivated in October 1933 and transferred to the Bureau of Prisons.[18] During World War I, the prison was used to hold conscientious objectors, including Philip Grosser, who wrote a pamphlet entitled Uncle Sam's Devil's Island about his experiences.[26] Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary Main article: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary An exterior view of the Alcatraz main cell block from the exercise yard The United States Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz were acquired by the United States Department of Justice on October 12, 1933, and the island was designated as a federal prison in August 1934. Alcatraz was designed to hold prisoners who continuously caused trouble at other federal prisons.[27] At 9:40 am on August 11, 1934, the first batch of 137 prisoners arrived at Alcatraz, arriving by railroad from the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, to Santa Venetia, California. They were escorted to Alcatraz, while handcuffed in high security coaches and guarded by 60 special FBI agents, U.S. Marshals and railway security officials.[5][28] Most of the prisoners were notorious bank robbers and murderers.[5] The prison initially had a staff of 155, including the first warden James A. Johnston and associate warden J. E. Shuttleworth, both considered to be "iron men".[5] The staff were highly trained in security, but not rehabilitation.[5] Cell 281 in Alcatraz where Al Capone was imprisoned During the 29 years it was in use, the prison held some of the most notorious criminals in American history,[5] including gangsters such as Al Capone, Robert Franklin Stroud (the "Birdman of Alcatraz"), George "Machine Gun" Kelly and Bumpy Johnson, and political terrorists such as Rafael Cancel Miranda, a member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party who attacked the United States Capitol building in 1954.[29] Others included Mickey Cohen, Arthur R. "Doc" Barker, and Alvin "Creepy" Karpis, who served more time at Alcatraz than any other inmate. It also provided housing for the Bureau of Prisons staff and their families. Contrary to popular belief, it was possible to escape and swim all of the way to shore.[30] However, during its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary claimed that no prisoner successfully escaped. A total of 36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts, two men trying twice. 23 were caught alive, six were shot and killed during their escape, two drowned, and five are listed as "missing and presumed drowned".[31] The most violent incident occurred on May 2, 1946, when a failed escape attempt by six prisoners led to the Battle of Alcatraz. Perhaps the most famous is the intricate escape, carried out on June 11, 1962, by Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin. The three men are believed to have drowned in their attempt. Although most escapees were caught or drowned, in 1962, prisoner John Paul Scott made it to the shore. However, he was so weary that police found him unconscious and in hypothermic shock. The annual Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon includes a required 1.5-mile (2.4 km) swim from the island to the bay shore.[32] Closing of the prison There are several reasons that Alcatraz closed as a penitentiary in 1963. The penitentiary cost much more to operate than other prisons (nearly $10 per prisoner per day, as opposed to $3 per prisoner per day at Atlanta).[33] Half a century of salt water saturation had severely eroded the buildings and three people had purportedly escaped in 1962. After its closure, George Moscone received public proposals to repurpose Alcatraz Island.[34] Native American occupation Main article: Occupation of Alcatraz A lingering sign of the 1969–71 Native American occupation Alcatraz Island was occupied by Native American activists for the first time on March 8, 1964. The protest, proposed by Lakota Sioux activist Belva Cottier and joined by about 35 others, was reported by, among others, the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner.[35] Beginning on November 20, 1969, a group of Native Americans called United Indians of All Tribes, mostly college students from San Francisco, occupied the island to protest federal policies related to American Indians. Some of them were children of Native Americans who had relocated in the city as part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) Indian termination policy, which was a series of laws and policies aimed at the assimilation of Native Americans into mainstream US society. It encouraged Native Americans to move away from the Indian reservations and into cities to take advantage of health, educational and employment opportunities. A number of employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs also occupied Alcatraz at that time, including Doris Purdy, an amateur photographer, who later produced footage of her stay on the island.[36] The occupiers, who stayed on the island for nearly two years, demanded that the island's facilities be adapted and new structures built for an Indian education center, ecology center, and cultural center. The American Indians claimed the island by provisions of the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) between the US and the Sioux; they said the treaty promised to return all retired, abandoned, or out-of-use federal lands to the native peoples from whom they were acquired. Indians of All Tribes claimed Alcatraz Island by the "Right of Discovery"; as historian Troy R. Johnson states in The Occupation of Alcatraz Island, generations of indigenous peoples knew about Alcatraz at least 10,000 years before any European knew about any part of North America. Begun by urban Indians of San Francisco, the occupation attracted other Native Americans from across the country, including American Indian Movement (AIM) urban activists from Minneapolis. The Alcatraz cellhouse, lighthouse, and Warden's House, which was burned out during the 1969–71 Native American occupation The Native Americans demanded reparations for the many treaties broken by the US government and for the lands that were taken from so many tribes. During the nineteen months and nine days of occupation by the American Indians, several buildings at Alcatraz were damaged or destroyed by fire, including the lighthouse keeper's home, the warden's home, the Officers' Club,[37] the recreation hall, and the Coast Guard quarters. The origin of the fires is disputed. The US government demolished a number of other buildings (mostly apartments) after the occupation had ended. Graffiti from the period of Native American occupation is still visible at many locations on the island.[38] During the occupation, President Richard Nixon rescinded the Indian termination policy, designed by earlier administrations to end federal recognition of many tribes and their special relationship with the US government. He established a new policy of self-determination, in part as a result of the publicity and awareness created by the occupation. The occupation ended on June 11, 1971.[39] Alcatraz under the National Park Service In 1972, the National Park Service purchased Alcatraz along with Fort Mason from the U.S. Army to establish the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Under "An Act to Establish the Golden Gate National Recreation Area" President Richard Nixon allocated $120 million for land acquisition and development of the area.[40] It has since been under the direction of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and now operates as a tourist site and museum dedicated to its time as a federal penitentiary. Operating costs still remain one of its biggest challenges today. Landmarks Part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area since 1972, the entire Alcatraz Island was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[2] In 1986 it was designated as a National Historic Landmark, the highest recognition.[3][41] In 1993, the National Park Service published a plan entitled Alcatraz Development Concept and Environmental Assessment.[42] This plan, approved in 1980, doubled the area of Alcatraz accessible to the public, in order to enable visitors to enjoy its scenery and bird, marine, and animal life.[43] Map of Alcatraz Major sites in the cultural landscape include:[44] Barker Beach Boat Dock Building 64 Citadel Dining Hall Former Military Chapel (Bachelor Quarters) Helipad (FAA LID: CA27) Library Lighthouse Main Cellhouse Model Industries Building Morgue New Industries Building Officers' Club Parade Grounds Power House Recreation Yard Wardens House Water Tower Development American Indigenous groups, such as the International Indian Treaty Council, occasionally hold ceremonies on the island, most notably, their "Sunrise Gatherings" every Columbus Day and Thanksgiving Day.[45][46] Around 2007, the Global Peace Foundation proposed to raze the prison and build a peace center in its place. Supporters collected 10,350 signatures – sufficient to have it placed as a proposition on the presidential primary ballots in San Francisco for February 5, 2008.[47] The proposed plan was estimated at US$1 billion. For the plan to pass, Congress would have to have taken Alcatraz out of the National Park Service. Critics of the plan said that Alcatraz is too rich in history to be destroyed.[48] On February 6, 2008, the Alcatraz Island Global Peace Center Proposition C failed to pass, with 72% of voters rejecting the proposition.[49] The coastal environment of the San Francisco Bay Area has caused deterioration and corrosion of building materials throughout Alcatraz. Beginning in 2011, the National Park Service began major renovations on the island, including the installation of solar panels on the cell house roof, slope stabilization near the Warden's House, and the stabilization and rehabilitation of the outer cell house walls. Now one of San Francisco's major tourist attractions, Alcatraz drew some 1.7 million visitors annually according to a 2018 report.[50] Visitors arrive by ferry, operated under contract by Alcatraz Cruises LLC at Pier 33.[51] The 2018 report indicated that "former prison buildings are being conserved and seismically upgraded and additional areas of the Island are opened to the public as safety hazards are removed".[50] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the buildings and the island remained closed to the public for more than a year (and ferry services were suspended), reopening in March 2021.[52] Art Alcatraz has been home to several art installations. In 2014, Chinese artist/dissident Ai Weiwei staged an exhibition which explored "questions about human rights and freedom of expression" called @Large.[53] This exhibition included Lego portraits of famous political prisoners. The creation of the exhibition was featured in a 2019 documentary film, Yours Truly.[54] In 2016, Nelson Saiers used math and prison slang as central elements in a six-month installation that called attention to the imposition of long prison sentences.[55][56] Fauna and flora Habitat Brandt's cormorant nesting on Alcatraz Island Cisterns. A bluff that, because of its moist crevices, is believed to be an important site for California slender salamanders. Cliff tops at the island's north end. Containing a onetime manufacturing building and a plaza, the area is listed as important to nesting and roosting birds. The powerhouse area. A steep embankment where native grassland and creeping wild rye support a habitat for deer mice. Tide pools. One of the only complexes in the San Francisco Bay, the island's tide pools were created by quarrying activities, and contain a variety of typical invertebrate species.[57] Western cliffs and cliff tops. Rising to heights of nearly 100 feet (30 m), they provide nesting and roosting sites for seabirds including pigeon guillemots, cormorants, Heermann's gulls, and western gulls. Harbor seals can occasionally be seen on a small beach at the base. The parade grounds. Carved from the hillside during the late 19th century and covered with rubble since the government demolished guard housing in 1971, the area has become a habitat and breeding ground for black-crowned night herons, western gulls, slender salamanders, and deer mice. The Agave Path, a trail named for its dense growth of agave. Located atop a shoreline bulkhead on the south side, it provides a nesting habitat for night herons. Flora This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Flowers on Alcatraz Gardens planted by families of the original Army post, and later by families of the prison guards, fell into neglect after the prison closure in 1963. After 40 years, they are being restored by a paid staff member and many volunteers, thanks to funding by the Garden Conservancy and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. The untended gardens had become severely overgrown and had developed into a nesting habitat and sanctuary for numerous birds. Now, areas of bird habitat are being preserved and protected, while many of the gardens are being restored to their original state. In clearing out the overgrowth, workers found that many of the original plants were growing where they had been planted – some more than 100 years ago. Numerous heirloom rose hybrids, including a Welsh rose (Bardou Job) that had been believed to be extinct, have been discovered and propagated. Many species of roses, succulents, and geraniums are growing among apple and fig trees, banks of sweet peas, manicured gardens of cutting flowers, and wildly overgrown sections of native grasses with blackberry and honeysuckle. In popular culture Main article: Alcatraz Island in popular culture Alcatraz Island appears often in media and popular culture, including films dating from 1962: Resident Evil: Death Island (2023), The Book of Eli (2010), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), Catch Me If You Can (2002), The Rock (1996), Murder in the First (1995), Escape from Alcatraz (1979), The Enforcer (1976), Point Blank (1967) , Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and J. J. Abrams' 2012 television series Alcatraz. It also was featured in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime, in the book Al Capone Does My Shirts, in the video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 as a playable level. It is also showcased as a playable racetrack in the 1997 arcade racing video game San Francisco Rush the Rock: Alcatraz Edition. Alcatraz has also been portrayed often as a safe haven or base of operations in many post-apocalyptic movies, such as The Book of Eli. Alcatraz was featured in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II in a downloadable zombie survival map called "Mob of the Dead" in which players could explore the Main Cellhouse, the Boat Dock, and a fictional area called the Catacombs which runs through the island. A segment of Alcatraz' Cellhouse makes a cameo appearance in Call of Duty: Black Ops III in the downloadable zombies survival map "Revelations". The map was then remastered in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's zombie mode as "Blood of the Dead" in which the playable area of the map was expanded to include the Model Industries Building, New Industries Building, and the Warden's House. Call of Duty: Mobile also has a seasonal game mode in Alcatraz Island. Call of Duty: Warzone's Rebirth Island is also based on Alcatraz Island. Alcatraz even appears in The Alchemyst and The Sorceress by author Michael Scott and is depicted as a prison for the immortal Perenelle Flamel. Alcatraz is featured in the episode "Bird Mummy of Alcatraz" in the children's program, Mummies Alive! and was also featured in a mission in the video game Watch Dogs 2. Alcatraz is also featured as a downloadable map in the video game The Escapists. The German rock band, Scorpions filmed the music video of "No One Like You" at the Alcatraz prison. Escape from Alcatraz and The Rock are two films that show how inescapable the island is. Escape from Alcatraz is based on the true story of a few inmates trying to flee the island. The Rock on the other hand, just depicts life in Alcatraz.[58] In the 2003 video game Hulk, Alcatraz is the location of a secret base of operations called Freehold for the supervillain Leader. In the video game Watch Dogs 2, the player can walk around and visit Alcatraz Island. Gallery A panorama of Alcatraz as viewed from San Francisco Bay, facing east. Sather Tower and UC Berkeley are visible in the background on the right. (Drag image left and right to show full panorama.) A panorama of Alcatraz as viewed from San Francisco Bay, facing east. Sather Tower and UC Berkeley are visible in the background on the right. (Drag image left and right to show full panorama.)   Different view of the Water Tower built in 1940. Different view of the Water Tower built in 1940.   Alcatraz Utility House and Power Plant Chimney, built in 1939. Alcatraz Utility House and Power Plant Chimney, built in 1939.   School House (two story building in the middle) and the Electric Repair shop (foreground) built in 1930s. School House (two story building in the middle) and the Electric Repair shop (foreground) built in 1930s.   Alcatraz, outside (2012) Alcatraz, outside (2012)   Alcatraz, hallway (2013) Alcatraz, hallway (2013)   Views of both long sides of the island. Views of both long sides of the island.   Alcatraz Island harbor guards tower. Alcatraz Island harbor guards tower.   Alcatraz Island view from the west. Image shot from an altitude of approximately 1,800 ft (549 m). Alcatraz Island view from the west. Image shot from an altitude of approximately 1,800 ft (549 m).   Alcatraz view from tour boat. Alcatraz view from tour boat.   Basement of Alcatraz Basement of Alcatraz See also Asinara Cellular Jail Château d'If Devil's Island Fort Denison List of islands of California Robben Island San Lucas Island Portals:  San Francisco Bay Area icon Law flag United States icon Islands San Francisco (/ˌsæn frənˈsɪskoʊ/ SAN frən-SISS-koh; Spanish for 'Saint Francis'), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous city in California, with 808,437 residents, and the 17th most populous city in the United States as of 2022.[16] The city covers a land area of 46.9 square miles (121 square kilometers)[24] at the end of the San Francisco Peninsula, making it the second most densely populated large U.S. city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated U.S. county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs. Among the 91 U.S. cities proper with over 250,000 residents, San Francisco was ranked first by per capita income[25] and sixth by aggregate income as of 2021.[26] Colloquial nicknames for San Francisco include Frisco, San Fran, The City, and SF.[27][28] San Francisco was first inhabited by the Ramaytush people, who called the area Yelamu. On June 29, 1776, settlers from New Spain established the Presidio of San Francisco at the Golden Gate, and the Mission San Francisco de Asís a few miles away, both named for Francis of Assisi.[4] The California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, transforming an unimportant hamlet into a busy port, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time; between 1870 and 1900, approximately one quarter of California's population resided in the city proper.[26] In 1856, San Francisco became a consolidated city-county.[29] After three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire,[30] it was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. In World War II, it was a major port of embarkation for naval service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater.[31] In 1945, the United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco, establishing the United Nations before permanently relocating to Manhattan, and in 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco re-established peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers.[32][33][34] After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, significant immigration, liberalizing attitudes, the rise of the beatnik and hippie countercultures, the sexual revolution, the peace movement growing from opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War, and other factors led to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, cementing San Francisco as a center of liberal activism in the United States. San Francisco and the surrounding San Francisco Bay Area are a global center of economic activity and the arts and sciences,[35][36] spurred by leading universities,[37] high-tech, healthcare, finance, insurance, real estate, and professional services sectors.[38] As of 2020, the metropolitan area, with 6.7 million residents, ranked 5th by GDP ($874 billion) and 2nd by GDP per capita ($131,082) across the OECD countries, ahead of global cities like Paris, London, and Singapore.[39][40][41] San Francisco anchors the 13th most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States with 4.6 million residents, and the fourth-largest by aggregate income and economic output, with a GDP of $669 billion in 2021.[42] The wider San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland Combined Statistical Area is the fifth most populous, with 9.5 million residents, and the third-largest by economic output, with a GDP of $1.25 trillion in 2021. In the same year, San Francisco proper had a GDP of $236.4 billion, and a GDP per capita of $289,990.[42] San Francisco was ranked fifth in the world and second in the United States on the Global Financial Centres Index as of March 2023.[43] The city houses the headquarters of numerous companies inside and outside of technology, including Wells Fargo, Salesforce, Uber, Airbnb, Twitter, Levi's, Gap, Dropbox, and Lyft.[44] With over 3.3 million visitors as of 2019, San Francisco is the fifth-most visited city in the United States after New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, and Orlando.[45] The city is known for its steep rolling hills and eclectic mix of architecture across varied neighborhoods, as well as its cool summers, fog, and landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, Alcatraz, along with the Chinatown and Mission districts.[46] The city is home to a number of educational and cultural institutions, such as the University of California, San Francisco, the University of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the de Young Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet, the San Francisco Opera, the SFJAZZ Center, and the California Academy of Sciences. Two major league sports teams, the San Francisco Giants and the Golden State Warriors, play their home games within San Francisco proper. San Francisco's main international airport offers flights to over 125 destinations while a light rail and bus network, in tandem with the BART and Caltrain systems, connects nearly every part of San Francisco with the wider region.[47][48] Etymology See also: List of San Francisco placename etymologies The city takes its name from Mission San Francisco de Asís, founded in 1776 in honor of Saint Francis. San Francisco, which is Spanish for "Saint Francis", takes its name from Mission San Francisco de Asís, which was named after Saint Francis of Assisi. The mission received its name in 1776, when it was founded by the Spanish under the leadership of Padre Francisco Palóu. The city has officially been known as San Francisco since 1847, when Washington Allon Bartlett, then serving as the city's alcalde, renamed it from Yerba Buena (Spanish for "Good Herb"), which had been name used throughout the Spanish and Mexican eras since approximately 1776. The name Yerba Buena continues to be used in locations in the city, such as Yerba Buena Island, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and Yerba Buena Gardens. Bay Area residents often refer to San Francisco as "the City".[1] For residents of San Francisco living in the more suburban parts of the city, "the City" generally refers to the densely populated areas around Market Street. Its use, or lack thereof, is a common way for locals to distinguish long time residents from tourists and recent arrivals (as a shibboleth). San Francisco has several nicknames, including "The City by the Bay", "Golden Gate City",[49] "Frisco", "SF", "San Fran", and "Fog City"; as well as older ones like "The City that Knows How", "Baghdad by the Bay", or "The Paris of the West".[1] "San Fran" and "Frisco" are controversial as nicknames among San Francisco residents.[50][51][52] History See also: History of San Francisco For a chronological guide, see Timeline of San Francisco. Indigenous history The earliest archeological evidence of human habitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BCE.[53] The Yelamu group of the Ramaytush people resided in a few small villages when an overland Spanish exploration party arrived on November 2, 1769, the first documented European visit to San Francisco Bay.[54] The Ohlone name for San Francisco was Ahwaste, meaning, "place at the bay".[55] The arrival of the Spanish, and the implementation of their Mission system, marked the beginning of the genocide of the Ramaytush people, and the end of their language and culture. Spanish era Juan Bautista de Anza established the Presidio of San Francisco for the Spanish Empire in 1776. Mission San Francisco de Asís was founded by Padre Francisco Palóu on October 9, 1776. The Spanish Empire claimed San Francisco as part of Las Californias, a province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The Spanish first arrived in what is now San Francisco on November 2, 1769, when the Portolá expedition led by Don Gaspar de Portolá and Juan Crespí arrived at San Francisco Bay. Having noted the strategic benefits of the area due to its large natural harbor, the Spanish dispatched Pedro Fages in 1770 to find a more direct route to the San Francisco Peninsula from Monterey, which would become part of the El Camino Real route. By 1774, Juan Bautista de Anza had arrived to the area to select the sites for a mission and presidio. The first European maritime presence in San Francisco Bay occurred on August 5, 1775, when the Spanish ship San Carlos, commanded by Juan Manuel de Ayala, became the first ship to anchor in the bay.[56] Soon after, on March 28, 1776, Anza established the Presidio of San Francisco. On October 9, Mission San Francisco de Asís, also known as Mission Dolores, was founded by Padre Francisco Palóu.[4] In 1794, the Presidio established the Castillo de San Joaquín, a fortification on the southern side of the Golden Gate, which later came to be known as Fort Point. In 1804, the province of Alta California was created, which included San Francisco. At its peak in 1810–1820, the average population at the Mission Dolores settlement was about 1,100 people.[57] Mexican era Juana Briones de Miranda, known as the "Founding Mother of San Francisco"[58] In 1821, the Californias were ceded to Mexico by Spain. The extensive California mission system gradually lost its influence during the period of Mexican rule. Agricultural land became largely privatized as ranchos, as was occurring in other parts of California. Coastal trade increased, including a half-dozen barques from various Atlantic ports which regularly sailed in California waters.[59][60] Yerba Buena (after a native herb), a trading post with settlements between the Presidio and Mission grew up around the Plaza de Yerba Buena. The plaza was later renamed Portsmouth Square (now located in the city's Chinatown and Financial District). The Presidio was commanded in 1833 by Captain Mariano G. Vallejo.[59] In 1833, Juana Briones de Miranda built her rancho near El Polín Spring, founding the first civilian household in San Francisco, which had previously only been comprised by the military settlement at the Presidio and the religious settlement at Mission Dolores.[58] In 1834, Francisco de Haro became the first Alcalde of Yerba Buena. De Haro was a native of Mexico, from that nation's west coast city of Compostela, Nayarit. A land survey of Yerba Buena was made by the Swiss immigrant Jean Jacques Vioget as prelude to the city plan. The second Alcalde José Joaquín Estudillo was a Californio from a prominent Monterey family. In 1835, while in office, he approved the first land grant in Yerba Buena: to William Richardson, a naturalized Mexican citizen of English birth. Richardson had arrived in San Francisco aboard a whaling ship in 1822. In 1825, he married Maria Antonia Martinez, eldest daughter of the Californio Ygnacio Martínez.[61][a] The 1846 Battle of Yerba Buena was an early U.S. victory in the American conquest of California. Yerba Buena began to attract American and European settlers; an 1842 census listed 21 residents (11%) born in the United States or Europe, as well as one Filipino merchant.[62] Following the Bear Flag Revolt in Sonoma and the beginning of the U.S. Conquest of California, American forces under the command of John B. Montgomery captured Yerba Buena on July 9, 1846, with little resistance from the local Californio population. Following the capture, U.S. forces appointed both José de Jesús Noé and Washington Allon Bartlett to serve as co-alcaldes (mayors), while the conquest continued on in the rest of California. Following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Alta California was ceded from Mexico to the United States. Post-Conquest era San Francisco in 1849, during the beginning of the California Gold Rush Port of San Francisco in 1851 Despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, post-Conquest San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography.[63] Its 1847 population was said to be 459.[59] The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers (known as "forty-niners", as in "1849"). With their sourdough bread in tow,[64] prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia,[65] raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849.[66] The promise of wealth was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor.[67] Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times as storeships, saloons, and hotels; many were left to rot, and some were sunk to establish title to the underwater lot. By 1851, the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870, Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create new land. Buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings.[68] California was quickly granted statehood in 1850, and the U.S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate and a fort on Alcatraz Island to secure the San Francisco Bay. San Francisco County was one of the state's 18 original counties established at California statehood in 1850.[69] Until 1856, San Francisco's city limits extended west to Divisadero Street and Castro Street, and south to 20th Street. In 1856, the California state government divided the county. A straight line was then drawn across the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula just north of San Bruno Mountain. Everything south of the line became the new San Mateo County while everything north of the line became the new consolidated City and County of San Francisco.[70] The Bank of California, established in 1863, was the first commercial bank in Western United States.[71] Entrepreneurs sought to capitalize on the wealth generated by the Gold Rush. Silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859, further drove rapid population growth.[72] With hordes of fortune seekers streaming through the city, lawlessness was common, and the Barbary Coast section of town gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution, bootlegging, and gambling.[73] Early winners were the banking industry, with the founding of Wells Fargo in 1852 and the Bank of California in 1864. Development of the Port of San Francisco and the establishment in 1869 of overland access to the eastern U.S. rail system via the newly completed Pacific Railroad (the construction of which the city only reluctantly helped support[74]) helped make the Bay Area a center for trade. Catering to the needs and tastes of the growing population, Levi Strauss opened a dry goods business and Domingo Ghirardelli began manufacturing chocolate. Chinese immigrants made the city a polyglot culture, drawn to "Old Gold Mountain", creating the city's Chinatown quarter. By 1880, Chinese made up 9.3% of the population.[75] View of the city in 1878 The first cable cars carried San Franciscans up Clay Street in 1873. The city's sea of Victorian houses began to take shape, and civic leaders campaigned for a spacious public park, resulting in plans for Golden Gate Park. San Franciscans built schools, churches, theaters, and all the hallmarks of civic life. The Presidio developed into the most important American military installation on the Pacific coast.[76] By 1890, San Francisco's population approached 300,000, making it the eighth-largest city in the United States at the time. Around 1901, San Francisco was a major city known for its flamboyant style, stately hotels, ostentatious mansions on Nob Hill, and a thriving arts scene.[77] The first North American plague epidemic was the San Francisco plague of 1900–1904.[78] 1906 earthquake and interwar era The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was the deadliest earthquake in U.S. history. At 5:12 am on April 18, 1906, a major earthquake struck San Francisco and northern California. As buildings collapsed from the shaking, ruptured gas lines ignited fires that spread across the city and burned out of control for several days. With water mains out of service, the Presidio Artillery Corps attempted to contain the inferno by dynamiting blocks of buildings to create firebreaks.[79] More than three-quarters of the city lay in ruins, including almost all of the downtown core.[30] Contemporary accounts reported that 498 people died, though modern estimates put the number in the several thousands.[80] More than half of the city's population of 400,000 was left homeless.[81] Refugees settled temporarily in makeshift tent villages in Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, on the beaches, and elsewhere. Many fled permanently to the East Bay. Jack London is remembered for having famously eulogized the earthquake: "Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone."[82] The reconstruction of San Francisco City Hall on Civic Center Plaza, c. 1913–16 Rebuilding was rapid and performed on a grand scale. Rejecting calls to completely remake the street grid, San Franciscans opted for speed.[83] Amadeo Giannini's Bank of Italy, later to become Bank of America, provided loans for many of those whose livelihoods had been devastated. The influential San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association or SPUR was founded in 1910 to address the quality of housing after the earthquake.[84] The earthquake hastened development of western neighborhoods that survived the fire, including Pacific Heights, where many of the city's wealthy rebuilt their homes.[85] In turn, the destroyed mansions of Nob Hill became grand hotels. City Hall rose again in the Beaux Arts style, and the city celebrated its rebirth at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915.[86] The Panama–Pacific Exposition, a major world's fair held in 1915, was seen as a chance to showcase the city's recovery from the earthquake. During this period, San Francisco built some of its most important infrastructure. Civil Engineer Michael O'Shaughnessy was hired by San Francisco Mayor James Rolph as chief engineer for the city in September 1912 to supervise the construction of the Twin Peaks Reservoir, the Stockton Street Tunnel, the Twin Peaks Tunnel, the San Francisco Municipal Railway, the Auxiliary Water Supply System, and new sewers. San Francisco's streetcar system, of which the J, K, L, M, and N lines survive today, was pushed to completion by O'Shaughnessy between 1915 and 1927. It was the O'Shaughnessy Dam, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, and Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct that would have the largest effect on San Francisco.[87] An abundant water supply enabled San Francisco to develop into the city it has become today. The Bay Bridge under construction on Yerba Buena Island in 1935 In ensuing years, the city solidified its standing as a financial capital; in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, not a single San Francisco-based bank failed.[88] Indeed, it was at the height of the Great Depression that San Francisco undertook two great civil engineering projects, simultaneously constructing the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, completing them in 1936 and 1937, respectively. It was in this period that the island of Alcatraz, a former military stockade, began its service as a federal maximum security prison, housing notorious inmates such as Al Capone, and Robert Franklin Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz. San Francisco later celebrated its regained grandeur with a World's fair, the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939–40, creating Treasure Island in the middle of the bay to house it.[89] Contemporary era See also: San Francisco in the 1970s The United Nations was created in San Francisco in 1945, when the United Nations Charter was signed at the San Francisco Conference. During World War II, the city-owned Sharp Park in Pacifica was used as an internment camp to detain Japanese Americans.[90] Hunters Point Naval Shipyard became a hub of activity, and Fort Mason became the primary port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater of Operations.[31] The explosion of jobs drew many people, especially African Americans from the South, to the area. After the end of the war, many military personnel returning from service abroad and civilians who had originally come to work decided to stay. The United Nations Charter creating the United Nations was drafted and signed in San Francisco in 1945 and, in 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco re-established peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers.[91] Urban planning projects in the 1950s and 1960s involved widespread destruction and redevelopment of west-side neighborhoods and the construction of new freeways, of which only a series of short segments were built before being halted by citizen-led opposition.[92] The onset of containerization made San Francisco's small piers obsolete, and cargo activity moved to the larger Port of Oakland.[93] The city began to lose industrial jobs and turned to tourism as the most important segment of its economy.[94] The suburbs experienced rapid growth, and San Francisco underwent significant demographic change, as large segments of the white population left the city, supplanted by an increasing wave of immigration from Asia and Latin America.[95][96] From 1950 to 1980, the city lost over 10 percent of its population. The Summer of Love in 1967 was an influential counterculture phenomenon with as many as 100,000 people converging in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Over this period, San Francisco became a magnet for America's counterculture movement. Beat Generation writers fueled the San Francisco Renaissance and centered on the North Beach neighborhood in the 1950s.[97] Hippies flocked to Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s, reaching a peak with the 1967 Summer of Love.[98] In 1974, the Zebra murders left at least 16 people dead.[99] In the 1970s, the city became a center of the gay rights movement, with the emergence of The Castro as an urban gay village, the election of Harvey Milk to the Board of Supervisors, and his assassination, along with that of Mayor George Moscone, in 1978.[100] Bank of America, now based in Charlotte, North Carolina, was founded in San Francisco; the bank completed 555 California Street in 1969. The Transamerica Pyramid was completed in 1972,[101] igniting a wave of "Manhattanization" that lasted until the late 1980s, a period of extensive high-rise development downtown.[102] The 1980s also saw a dramatic increase in the number of homeless people in the city, an issue that remains today, despite many attempts to address it.[103] Transamerica Pyramid, built in 1972, characterized the Manhattanization of the city's skyline in the 1970–80's. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake caused destruction and loss of life throughout the Bay Area. In San Francisco, the quake severely damaged structures in the Marina and South of Market districts and precipitated the demolition of the damaged Embarcadero Freeway and much of the damaged Central Freeway, allowing the city to reclaim The Embarcadero as its historic downtown waterfront and revitalizing the Hayes Valley neighborhood.[104] The two recent decades have seen booms driven by the internet industry. During the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, startup companies invigorated the San Francisco economy. Large numbers of entrepreneurs and computer application developers moved into the city, followed by marketing, design, and sales professionals, changing the social landscape as once poorer neighborhoods became increasingly gentrified.[105] Demand for new housing and office space ignited a second wave of high-rise development, this time in the South of Market district.[106] By 2000, the city's population reached new highs, surpassing the previous record set in 1950. When the bubble burst in 2001 and again in 2023, many of these companies folded and their employees were laid off. Yet high technology and entrepreneurship remain mainstays of the San Francisco economy. By the mid-2000s (decade), the social media boom had begun, with San Francisco becoming a popular location for tech offices and a common place to live for people employed in Silicon Valley companies such as Apple and Google.[107] The Ferry Station Post Office Building, Armour & Co. Building, Atherton House, and YMCA Hotel are historic buildings among dozens of historical landmarks in the city according to the National Register of Historic Places listings in San Francisco.[108] Geography Satellite view of San Francisco San Francisco is located on the West Coast of the United States, at the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula and includes significant stretches of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay within its boundaries. Several picturesque islands—Alcatraz, Treasure Island and the adjacent Yerba Buena Island, and small portions of Alameda Island, Red Rock Island, and Angel Island—are part of the city. Also included are the uninhabited Farallon Islands, 27 miles (43 km) offshore in the Pacific Ocean. The mainland within the city limits roughly forms a "seven-by-seven-mile square", a common local colloquialism referring to the city's shape, though its total area, including water, is nearly 232 square miles (600 km2). There are more than 50 hills within the city limits.[109] Some neighborhoods are named after the hill on which they are situated, including Nob Hill, Potrero Hill, and Russian Hill. Near the geographic center of the city, southwest of the downtown area, are a series of less densely populated hills. Twin Peaks, a pair of hills forming one of the city's highest points, forms an overlook spot. San Francisco's tallest hill, Mount Davidson, is 928 feet (283 m) high and is capped with a 103-foot (31 m) tall cross built in 1934.[110] Dominating this area is Sutro Tower, a large red and white radio and television transmission tower reaching 1,811 ft (552 m) above sea level. Lake Merced, located in southwestern San Francisco The nearby San Andreas and Hayward Faults are responsible for much earthquake activity, although neither physically passes through the city itself. The San Andreas Fault caused the earthquakes in 1906 and 1989. Minor earthquakes occur on a regular basis. The threat of major earthquakes plays a large role in the city's infrastructure development. The city constructed an auxiliary water supply system and has repeatedly upgraded its building codes, requiring retrofits for older buildings and higher engineering standards for new construction.[111] However, there are still thousands of smaller buildings that remain vulnerable to quake damage.[112] USGS has released the California earthquake forecast which models earthquake occurrence in California.[113] San Francisco's shoreline has grown beyond its natural limits. Entire neighborhoods such as the Marina, Mission Bay, and Hunters Point, as well as large sections of the Embarcadero, sit on areas of landfill. Treasure Island was constructed from material dredged from the bay as well as material resulting from the excavation of the Yerba Buena Tunnel through Yerba Buena Island during the construction of the Bay Bridge. Such land tends to be unstable during earthquakes. The resulting soil liquefaction causes extensive damage to property built upon it, as was evidenced in the Marina district during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.[114] A few natural lakes and creeks (Lake Merced, Mountain Lake, Pine Lake, Lobos Creek, El Polin Spring) are within parks and remain protected in what is essentially their original form, but most of the city's natural watercourses, such as Islais Creek and Mission Creek, have been partially or completely culverted and built over. Since the 1990s, however, the Public Utilities Commission has been studying proposals to daylight or restore some creeks.[115] Neighborhoods Main articles: Neighborhoods in San Francisco and List of Landmarks and Historic Places in San Francisco See also: List of tallest buildings in San Francisco View of the city's central districts along its northwestern coastline The historic center of San Francisco is the northeast quadrant of the city anchored by Market Street and the waterfront. Here the Financial District is centered, with Union Square, the principal shopping and hotel district, and the Tenderloin nearby. Cable cars carry riders up steep inclines to the summit of Nob Hill, once the home of the city's business tycoons, and down to the waterfront tourist attractions of Fisherman's Wharf, and Pier 39, where many restaurants feature Dungeness crab from a still-active fishing industry. Also in this quadrant are Russian Hill, a residential neighborhood with the famously crooked Lombard Street; North Beach, the city's Little Italy and the former center of the Beat Generation; and Telegraph Hill, which features Coit Tower. Abutting Russian Hill and North Beach is San Francisco's Chinatown, the oldest Chinatown in North America.[116][117][118][119] The South of Market, which was once San Francisco's industrial core, has seen significant redevelopment following the construction of Oracle Park and an infusion of startup companies. New skyscrapers, live-work lofts, and condominiums dot the area. Further development is taking place just to the south in Mission Bay area, a former railroad yard, which now has a second campus of the University of California, San Francisco and Chase Center, which opened in 2019 as the new home of the Golden State Warriors.[120] West of downtown, across Van Ness Avenue, lies the large Western Addition neighborhood, which became established with a large African American population after World War II. The Western Addition is usually divided into smaller neighborhoods including Hayes Valley, the Fillmore, and Japantown, which was once the largest Japantown in North America but suffered when its Japanese American residents were forcibly removed and interned during World War II. The Western Addition survived the 1906 earthquake with its Victorians largely intact, including the famous "Painted Ladies", standing alongside Alamo Square. To the south, near the geographic center of the city is Haight-Ashbury, famously associated with 1960s hippie culture.[121] The Haight is now[timeframe?] home to some expensive boutiques[122][better source needed] and a few controversial chain stores,[123] although it still retains[timeframe?][citation needed] some bohemian character. San Francisco Chinatown, the oldest in North America and one of the world's largest. North of the Western Addition is Pacific Heights, an affluent neighborhood that features the homes built by wealthy San Franciscans in the wake of the 1906 earthquake. Directly north of Pacific Heights facing the waterfront is the Marina, a neighborhood popular with young professionals that was largely built on reclaimed land from the Bay.[124] In the southeast quadrant of the city is the Mission District—populated in the 19th century by Californios and working-class immigrants from Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Scandinavia. In the 1910s, a wave of Central American immigrants settled in the Mission and, in the 1950s, immigrants from Mexico began to predominate.[125] In recent years, gentrification has changed the demographics of parts of the Mission from Latino, to twenty-something professionals. Noe Valley to the southwest and Bernal Heights to the south are both increasingly popular among young families with children. East of the Mission is the Potrero Hill neighborhood, a mostly residential neighborhood that features sweeping views of downtown San Francisco. West of the Mission, the area historically known as Eureka Valley, now popularly called the Castro, was once a working-class Scandinavian and Irish area. It has become North America's first gay village, and is now the center of gay life in the city.[126] Located near the city's southern border, the Excelsior District is one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in San Francisco. The Bayview-Hunters Point in the far southeast corner of the city is one of the poorest neighborhoods, though the area has been the focus of several revitalizing and urban renewal projects. The Ferry Building, located in the Embarcadero, the city's eastern waterfront along San Francisco Bay The construction of the Twin Peaks Tunnel in 1918 connected southwest neighborhoods to downtown via streetcar, hastening the development of West Portal, and nearby affluent Forest Hill and St. Francis Wood. Further west, stretching all the way to the Pacific Ocean and north to Golden Gate Park lies the vast Sunset District, a large middle-class area with a predominantly Asian population.[127] The northwestern quadrant of the city contains the Richmond, a mostly middle-class neighborhood north of Golden Gate Park, home to immigrants from other parts of Asia as well as many Russian and Ukrainian immigrants. Together, these areas are known as The Avenues. These two districts are each sometimes further divided into two regions: the Outer Richmond and Outer Sunset can refer to the more western portions of their respective district and the Inner Richmond and Inner Sunset can refer to the more eastern portions. Many piers remained derelict for years until the demolition of the Embarcadero Freeway reopened the downtown waterfront, allowing for redevelopment. The centerpiece of the port, the Ferry Building, while still receiving commuter ferry traffic, has been restored and redeveloped as a gourmet marketplace. Climate San Francisco fog is a regular phenomenon in the summer. San Francisco has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb), characteristic of California's coast, with moist, mild winters and dry summers.[128] San Francisco's weather is strongly influenced by the cool currents of the Pacific Ocean on the west side of the city, and the water of San Francisco Bay to the north and east. This moderates temperature swings and produces a remarkably mild year-round climate with little seasonal temperature variation.[129] Among major U.S. cities, San Francisco has the coolest daily mean, maximum, and minimum temperatures for June, July, and August.[130] During the summer, rising hot air in California's interior valleys creates a low-pressure area that draws winds from the North Pacific High through the Golden Gate, which creates the city's characteristic cool winds and fog.[131] The fog is less pronounced in eastern neighborhoods and during the late summer and early fall. As a result, the year's warmest month, on average, is September, and on average, October is warmer than July, especially in daytime. Temperatures reach or exceed 80 °F (27 °C) on an average of only 21 and 23 days a year at downtown and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), respectively.[132] The dry period of May to October is mild to warm, with the normal monthly mean temperature peaking in September at 62.7 °F (17.1 °C).[132] The rainy period of November to April is slightly cooler, with the normal monthly mean temperature reaching its lowest in January at 51.3 °F (10.7 °C).[132] On average, there are 73 rainy days a year, and annual precipitation averages 23.65 inches (601 mm).[132] Variation in precipitation from year to year is high. Above-average rain years are often associated with warm El Niño conditions in the Pacific while dry years often occur in cold water La Niña periods. In 2013 (a "La Niña" year), a record low 5.59 in (142 mm) of rainfall was recorded at downtown San Francisco, where records have been kept since 1849.[132] Snowfall in the city is very rare, with only 10 measurable accumulations recorded since 1852, most recently in 1976 when up to 5 inches (13 cm) fell on Twin Peaks.[133][134] The Farallon Islands are located in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the Pacific coast of San Francisco. The highest recorded temperature at the official National Weather Service downtown observation station[b] was 106 °F (41 °C) on September 1, 2017.[136] During that hot spell, the warmest ever night of 71 °F (22 °C) was also recorded.[137] The lowest recorded temperature was 27 °F (−3 °C) on December 11, 1932.[138] The National Weather Service provides a helpful visual aid[139] graphing the information in the table below to display visually by month the annual typical temperatures, the past year's temperatures, and record temperatures.[importance?] During an average year between 1991 and 2020, San Francisco recorded a warmest night at 64 °F (18 °C) and a coldest day at 49 °F (9 °C).[132] The coldest daytime high since the station's opening in 1945 was recorded in December 1972 at 37 °F (3 °C).[132] As a coastal city, San Francisco will be heavily affected by climate change. As of 2021, sea levels are projected to rise by as much as 5 feet (1.5 m), resulting in periodic flooding, rising groundwater levels, and lowland floods from more severe storms.[140] San Francisco falls under the USDA 10b Plant hardiness zone, though some areas, particularly downtown, border zone 11a.[141][142] vte Climate data for San Francisco (downtown),[c] 1991–2020 normals,[d] extremes 1849–present Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °F (°C) 79 (26) 81 (27) 87 (31) 94 (34) 97 (36) 103 (39) 99 (37) 98 (37) 106 (41) 102 (39) 86 (30) 76 (24) 106 (41) Mean maximum °F (°C) 67.1 (19.5) 71.8 (22.1) 76.4 (24.7) 80.7 (27.1) 81.4 (27.4) 84.6 (29.2) 80.5 (26.9) 83.4 (28.6) 90.8 (32.7) 87.9 (31.1) 75.8 (24.3) 66.4 (19.1) 94.0 (34.4) Average high °F (°C) 57.8 (14.3) 60.4 (15.8) 62.1 (16.7) 63.0 (17.2) 64.1 (17.8) 66.5 (19.2) 66.3 (19.1) 67.9 (19.9) 70.2 (21.2) 69.8 (21.0) 63.7 (17.6) 57.9 (14.4) 64.1 (17.8) Daily mean °F (°C) 52.2 (11.2) 54.2 (12.3) 55.5 (13.1) 56.4 (13.6) 57.8 (14.3) 59.7 (15.4) 60.3 (15.7) 61.7 (16.5) 62.9 (17.2) 62.1 (16.7) 57.2 (14.0) 52.5 (11.4) 57.7 (14.3) Average low °F (°C) 46.6 (8.1) 47.9 (8.8) 48.9 (9.4) 49.7 (9.8) 51.4 (10.8) 53.0 (11.7) 54.4 (12.4) 55.5 (13.1) 55.6 (13.1) 54.4 (12.4) 50.7 (10.4) 47.0 (8.3) 51.3 (10.7) Mean minimum °F (°C) 40.5 (4.7) 42.0 (5.6) 43.7 (6.5) 45.0 (7.2) 48.0 (8.9) 50.1 (10.1) 51.6 (10.9) 52.9 (11.6) 52.0 (11.1) 49.9 (9.9) 44.9 (7.2) 40.7 (4.8) 38.8 (3.8) Record low °F (°C) 29 (−2) 31 (−1) 33 (1) 40 (4) 42 (6) 46 (8) 47 (8) 46 (8) 47 (8) 43 (6) 38 (3) 27 (−3) 27 (−3) Average precipitation inches (mm) 4.40 (112) 4.37 (111) 3.15 (80) 1.60 (41) 0.70 (18) 0.20 (5.1) 0.01 (0.25) 0.06 (1.5) 0.10 (2.5) 0.94 (24) 2.60 (66) 4.76 (121) 22.89 (581) Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 11.2 10.8 10.8 6.8 4.0 1.6 0.7 1.1 1.2 3.5 7.9 11.6 71.2 Average relative humidity (%) 80 77 75 72 72 71 75 75 73 71 75 78 75 Mean monthly sunshine hours 185.9 207.7 269.1 309.3 325.1 311.4 313.3 287.4 271.4 247.1 173.4 160.6 3,061.7 Percent possible sunshine 61 69 73 78 74 70 70 68 73 71 57 54 69 Average ultraviolet index 2 3 5 7 9 10 10 9 7 5 3 2 6 Source 1: NOAA (sun 1961–1974)[132][143][144][145] Source 2: Met Office (humidity)[146], Weather Atlas (UV)[147] Time Series Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues. See or edit raw graph data. Ecology Aerial view of the Presidio of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Historically, tule elk were present in San Francisco County, based on archeological evidence of elk remains in at least five different Native American shellmounds: at Hunter's Point, Fort Mason, Stevenson Street, Market Street, and Yerba Buena.[148][149] Perhaps the first historical observer record was from the De Anza Expedition on March 23, 1776. Herbert Eugene Bolton wrote about the expedition camp at Mountain Lake, near the southern end of today's Presidio: "Round about were grazing deer, and scattered here and there were the antlers of large elk."[150] Also, when Richard Henry Dana Jr. visited San Francisco Bay in 1835, he wrote about vast elk herds near the Golden Gate: on December 27 "...we came to anchor near the mouth of the bay, under a high and beautifully sloping hill, upon which herds of hundreds and hundreds of red deer [note: "red deer" is the European term for "elk"], and the stag, with his high branching antlers, were bounding about...", although it is not clear whether this was the Marin side or the San Francisco side.[151] Demographics Main article: Demographics of San Francisco Historical population Year Pop. ±% 1848 1,000 —     1849 25,000 +2400.0% 1852 34,776 +39.1% 1860 56,802 +63.3% 1870 149,473 +163.1% 1880 233,959 +56.5% 1890 298,997 +27.8% 1900 342,782 +14.6% 1910 416,912 +21.6% 1920 506,676 +21.5% 1930 634,394 +25.2% 1940 634,536 +0.0% 1950 775,357 +22.2% 1960 740,316 −4.5% 1970 715,674 −3.3% 1980 678,974 −5.1% 1990 723,959 +6.6% 2000 776,733 +7.3% 2010 805,235 +3.7% 2020 873,965 +8.5% 2022 808,437 −7.5% U.S. Decennial Census[152] 2020–2022[16] The 2020 United States census showed San Francisco's population to be 873,965, an increase of 8.5% from the 2010 census.[153] With roughly one-quarter the population density of Manhattan, San Francisco is the second-most densely populated large American city, behind only New York City among cities greater than 200,000 population, and the fifth-most densely populated U.S. county, following only four of the five New York City boroughs. San Francisco is part of the five-county San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 4.7 million people (13th most populous in the U.S.), and has served as its traditional demographic focal point. It is also part of the greater 14-county San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area, whose population is over 9.6 million, making it the fifth-largest in the United States as of 2018.[154] Race, ethnicity, religion, and languages Ethnic origins in San Francisco San Francisco has a majority minority population, as non-Hispanic whites comprise less than half of the population, 41.9%, down from 92.5% in 1940.[155] As of the 2020 census, the racial makeup and population of San Francisco included: 361,382 Whites (41.3%), 296,505 Asians (33.9%), 46,725 African Americans (5.3%), 86,233 Multiracial Americans (9.9%), 6,475 Native Americans and Alaska Natives (0.7%), 3,476 Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (0.4%) and 73,169 persons of other races (8.4%). There were 136,761 Hispanics or Latinos of any race (15.6%). In 2010, residents of Chinese ethnicity constituted the largest single ethnic minority group in San Francisco at 21% of the population; other large Asian groups include Filipinos (5%) and Vietnamese (2%), with Japanese, Koreans and many other Asian and Pacific Islander groups represented in the city.[156] The population of Chinese ancestry is most heavily concentrated in Chinatown and the Sunset and Richmond Districts. Filipinos are most concentrated in SoMa and the Crocker-Amazon; the latter neighborhood shares a border with Daly City, which has one of the highest concentrations of Filipinos in North America.[156][157] The Tenderloin District is home to a large portion of the city's Vietnamese population as well as businesses and restaurants, which is known as the city's Little Saigon.[156] The principal Hispanic groups in the city were those of Mexican (7%) and Salvadoran (2%) ancestry. The Hispanic population is most heavily concentrated in the Mission District, Tenderloin District, and Excelsior District.[158] The city's percentage of Hispanic residents is less than half of that of the state. African Americans constitute 6% of San Francisco's population,[155] a percentage similar to that for California as a whole.[159] The majority of the city's black population reside within the neighborhoods of Bayview-Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley, and the Fillmore District.[158] There are smaller, yet sizeable Black communities in Diamond Heights, Glen Park, and Mission District. The city has long been home to a significant Jewish community, today Jewish Americans make up 10% (80,000) of the city's population as of 2018. The Jewish population of San Francisco is relatively young compared to many other major cities, and at 10% of the population, San Francisco has the third-largest Jewish community in terms of percentages after New York City, and Los Angeles, respectively.[160] The Jewish community is one of the largest minority groups in the city and is scattered throughout the city, but the Richmond District is home to an ethnic enclave of mostly Russian Jews.[161] The Fillmore District was formerly a mostly Jewish neighborhood from the 1920s until the 1970s, when many of its Jewish residents moved to other neighborhoods of the city as well as the suburbs of nearby Marin County.[162] Demographic profile[163] 1860 1880 1920 1960 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020[164] Non-Hispanic White alone 90.2% 87.7% 93.5% 72.7% 52.8% 46.9% 43.5% 41.7% 39.1% Non-Hispanic Asian alone 4.6% 9.3% 2.7% 7.9% 21.3% 28.0% 30.7% 33.1% 33.7% — Chinese American 4.6% 9.3% 1.5% 5.1% 12.1% 17.6% 20.0% 19.8% 21.0% — Filipino American — — 0.2% 1.5% 5.2% 5.4% 5.0% 4.9% 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, any race(s) 3.0% 2.4% 3.4% 9.4% 12.6% 13.3% 14.2% 15.2% 15.6% — Mexican American 1.8% 1.4% 1.5% 5.1% 5.0% 5.2% 6.0% 7.5% 7.9% Non-Hispanic Black alone 2.1% 0.6% 0.4% 9.7% 12.3% 10.7% 7.6% 6.0% 5.1% Non-Hispanic Pacific Islander alone — — <0.1% — 0.2% 0.4% 0.4% 0.5% 0.3% Non-Hispanic Native American alone <0.1% <0.1% <0.1% 0.1% 0.4% 0.4% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% Non-Hispanic other — — — 0.2% 0.4% 0.2% 0.3% 0.3% 0.8% Non-Hispanic two or more races — — — — — — 3.0% 2.9% 5.2% Foreign-born[e] 50.2% 44.5% 30.1% 20.2% 29.5% 35.4% 38.4% 38.2% 34.2% See also: Demographics of San Francisco § Historical estimates Source: US Census and IPUMS USA[163] Map of racial distribution in San Francisco, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: ⬤ White ⬤ Black ⬤ Asian ⬤ Hispanic ⬤ Other According to a 2018 study by the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, Jews make up 10% (80,000) of the city's population, making Judaism the second-largest religion in San Francisco after Christianity.[160] A prior 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, the largest religious groupings in San Francisco's metropolitan area are Christians (48%), followed by those of no religion (35%), Hindus (5%), Jews (3%), Buddhists (2%), Muslims (1%) and a variety of other religions have smaller followings. According to the same study by the Pew Research Center, about 20% of residents in the area are Protestant, and 25% professing Roman Catholic beliefs. Meanwhile, 10% of the residents in metropolitan San Francisco identify as agnostics, while 5% identify as atheists.[165][166] As of 2010, 55% (411,728) of San Francisco residents spoke only English at home, while 19% (140,302) spoke a variety of Chinese (mostly Taishanese and Cantonese[167][168]), 12% (88,147) Spanish, 3% (25,767) Tagalog, and 2% (14,017) Russian. In total, 45% (342,693) of San Francisco's population spoke a language at home other than English.[169] Ethnic clustering San Francisco has several prominent Chinese, Mexican, and Filipino neighborhoods including Chinatown and the Mission District. Research collected on the immigrant clusters in the city show that more than half of the Asian population in San Francisco is either Chinese-born (40.3%) or Philippine-born (13.1%), and of the Mexican population 21% were Mexican-born, meaning these are people who recently immigrated to the United States.[170] Between the years of 1990 and 2000, the number of foreign-born residents increased from 33% to nearly 40%.[170] During this same time period, the San Francisco metropolitan area received 850,000 immigrants, ranking third in the United States after Los Angeles and New York.[170] Education, households, and income Sea Cliff is one of the city's most expensive neighborhoods.[171] Of all major cities in the United States, San Francisco has the second-highest percentage of residents with a college degree, second only to Seattle. Over 44% of adults have a bachelor's or higher degree.[172] San Francisco had the highest rate at 7,031 per square mile, or over 344,000 total graduates in the city's 46.7 square miles (121 km2).[173] San Francisco has the highest estimated percentage of gay and lesbian individuals of any of the 50 largest U.S. cities, at 15%.[174] San Francisco also has the highest percentage of same-sex households of any American county, with the Bay Area having a higher concentration than any other metropolitan area.[175] San Francisco ranks third of American cities in median household income[176] with a 2007 value of $65,519.[159] Median family income is $81,136.[159] An emigration of middle-class families has left the city with a lower proportion of children than any other large American city,[177] with the dog population cited as exceeding the child population of 115,000, in 2018.[178] The city's poverty rate is 12%, lower than the national average.[179] Homelessness has been a chronic problem for San Francisco since the early 1970s.[180] The city is believed to have the highest number of homeless inhabitants per capita of any major U.S. city.[181][182] There are 345,811 households in the city, out of which: 133,366 households (39%) were individuals, 109,437 (32%) were opposite-sex married couples, 63,577 (18%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 21,677 (6%) were unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 10,384 (3%) were same-sex married couples or partnerships. The average household size was 2.26; the average family size was 3.11. 452,986 people (56%) lived in rental housing units, and 327,985 people (41%) lived in owner-occupied housing units. The median age of the city population is 38 years. San Francisco declared itself a sanctuary city in 1989, and city officials strengthened the stance in 2013 with its 'Due Process for All' ordinance. The law declared local authorities could not hold immigrants for immigration offenses if they had no violent felonies on their records and did not currently face charges."[183] The city issues a Resident ID Card regardless of the applicant's immigration status.[184] Homelessness See also: Homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area Homeless encampment under a freeway in San Francisco Homelessness in San Francisco emerged as a major issue in the late 20th century and remains a growing problem in modern times.[185] 8,035 homeless people were counted in San Francisco's 2019 point-in-time street and shelter count. This was an increase of more than 17% over the 2017 count of 6,858 people. 5,180 of the people were living unsheltered on the streets and in parks.[186] 26% of respondents in the 2019 count identified job loss as the primary cause of their homelessness, 18% cited alcohol or drug use, and 13% cited being evicted from their residence.[186] The city of San Francisco has been dramatically increasing its spending to service the growing population homelessness crisis: spending jumped by $241 million in 2016–17 to total $275 million, compared to a budget of just $34 million the previous year. In 2017–18 the budget for combatting homelessness stood at $305 million.[187] In the 2019–2020 budget year, the city budgeted $368 million for homelessness services. In the proposed 2020–2021 budget the city budgeted $850 million for homelessness services.[188] In January 2018 a United Nations special rapporteur on homelessness, Leilani Farha, stated that she was "completely shocked" by San Francisco's homelessness crisis during a visit to the city. She compared the "deplorable conditions" of the homeless camps she witnessed on San Francisco's streets to those she had seen in Mumbai.[187] In May 2020, San Francisco officially sanctioned homeless encampments.[189] Crime Main article: Crime in San Francisco SFPD mounted police officers In 2011, 50 murders were reported, which is 6.1 per 100,000 people.[190] There were about 134 rapes, 3,142 robberies, and about 2,139 assaults. There were about 4,469 burglaries, 25,100 thefts, and 4,210 motor vehicle thefts.[191] The Tenderloin area has the highest crime rate in San Francisco: 70% of the city's violent crimes, and around one-fourth of the city's murders, occur in this neighborhood. The Tenderloin also sees high rates of drug abuse, gang violence, and prostitution.[192] Another area with high crime rates is the Bayview-Hunters Point area. In the first six months of 2015 there were 25 murders compared to 14 in the first six months of 2014. However, the murder rate is still much lower than in past decades.[193] That rate, though, did rise again by the close of 2016. According to the San Francisco Police Department, there were 59 murders in the city in 2016, an annual total that marked a 13.5% increase in the number of homicides (52) from 2015.[194] The city has also gained a reputation for car break-ins, with over 19,000 car break-ins occurring in 2021.[195] During the first half of 2018, human feces on San Francisco sidewalks were the second-most-frequent complaint of city residents, with about 65 calls per day. The city has formed a "poop patrol" to attempt to combat the problem.[196] SFPD parking enforcement officers San Francisco is a center of sexual slavery.[197] In January 2022, CBS News reported that a single suspect was "responsible for more than half of all reported hate crimes against the API community in San Francisco last year," and that he "was allowed to be out of custody despite the number of charges against him."[198] Several street gangs have operated in the city over the decades, including MS-13,[199] the Sureños and Norteños in the Mission District.[200] In 2008, a MS-13 member killed three family members as they were arriving home in the city's Excelsior District. His victims had no relationship with him, nor did they have any known gang or street crime involvement.[201][citation needed] African-American street gangs familiar in other cities, including the Bloods, Crips and their sets, have struggled to establish footholds in San Francisco,[202] while police and prosecutors have been accused of liberally labeling young African-American males as gang members.[203] However, gangs founded in San Francisco with majority Black memberships have made their presence in the city. Criminal gangs with shotcallers in China, including Triad groups such as the Wo Hop To, have been reported active in San Francisco.[204] Economy See also: List of companies based in San Francisco San Francisco's Financial District, despite its declining importance,[205] is still considered the Wall Street of the West. San Francisco has a diversified service economy, with employment spread across a wide range of professional services, including tourism, financial services, and (increasingly) high technology.[206] In 2016, approximately 27% of workers were employed in professional business services; 14% in leisure and hospitality; 13% in government services; 12% in education and health care; 11% in trade, transportation, and utilities; and 8% in financial activities.[206] In 2019, GDP in the five-county San Francisco metropolitan area grew 3.8% in real terms to $592 billion.[207][208] Additionally, in 2019 the 14-county San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland combined statistical area had a GDP of $1.086 trillion,[208] ranking 3rd among CSAs, and ahead of all but 16 countries. As of 2019, San Francisco County was the 7th highest-income county in the United States (among 3,142), with a per capita personal income of $139,405.[209] Marin County, directly to the north over the Golden Gate Bridge, and San Mateo County, directly to the south on the Peninsula, were the 6th and 9th highest-income counties respectively. Skyline of South of Market (SoMa), including Salesforce Tower, the tallest building in San Francisco The legacy of the California Gold Rush turned San Francisco into the principal banking and finance center of the West Coast in the early twentieth century.[210] Montgomery Street in the Financial District became known as the "Wall Street of the West", home to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Wells Fargo corporate headquarters, and the site of the now-defunct Pacific Coast Stock Exchange.[210] Bank of America, a pioneer in making banking services accessible to the middle class, was founded in San Francisco and in the 1960s, built the landmark modern skyscraper at 555 California Street for its corporate headquarters. eventually moving to Charlotte, North Carolina. Many large financial institutions, multinational banks, and venture capital firms are based in or have regional headquarters in the city. With over 30 international financial institutions,[211] six Fortune 500 companies,[212] and a large supporting infrastructure of professional services—including law, public relations, architecture and design—San Francisco is designated as an Alpha(-) World City.[213] The 2017 Global Financial Centres Index ranked San Francisco as the sixth-most competitive financial center in the world.[214] Beginning in the 1990s, San Francisco's economy diversified away from finance and tourism towards the growing fields of high tech, biotechnology, and medical research.[215] Technology jobs accounted for just 1 percent of San Francisco's economy in 1990, growing to 4 percent in 2010 and an estimated 8 percent by the end of 2013.[216] San Francisco became a center of Internet start-up companies during the dot-com bubble of the 1990s and the subsequent social media boom of the late 2000s (decade).[217] Since 2010, San Francisco proper has attracted an increasing share of venture capital investments as compared to nearby Silicon Valley, attracting 423 financings worth US$4.58 billion in 2013.[218][219][220] In 2004, the city approved a payroll tax exemption for biotechnology companies[221] to foster growth in the Mission Bay neighborhood, site of a second campus and hospital of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Mission Bay hosts the UCSF Medical Center, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, and Gladstone Institutes,[222] as well as more than 40 private-sector life sciences companies.[223] Union Square is a major retail hub for the city and for the Bay Area. According to academic Rob Wilson, San Francisco is a global city, a status that pre-dated the city's popularity during the California Gold Rush.[224] However, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to high office vacancy rates and the closure of many retail businesses in the downtown core of San Francisco.[225][226] Attributed causes include a shift to remote work in the technology and professional services sectors, as well as high levels of homelessness, drug use, and crime in areas around downtown San Francisco, such as the Tenderloin and Mid-Market neighborhoods.[227][228] The top employer in the city is the city government itself, employing 5.6% (31,000+ people) of the city's workforce, followed by UCSF with over 25,000 employees.[229] The largest private-sector employer is Salesforce, with 8,500 employees, as of 2018.[230] Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees and self-employed firms make up 85% of city establishments,[231] and the number of San Franciscans employed by firms of more than 1,000 employees has fallen by half since 1977.[232] The growth of national big box and formula retail chains into the city has been made intentionally difficult by political and civic consensus. In an effort to buoy small privately owned businesses in San Francisco and preserve the unique retail personality of the city, the Small Business Commission started a publicity campaign in 2004 to keep a larger share of retail dollars in the local economy,[233] and the Board of Supervisors has used the planning code to limit the neighborhoods where formula retail establishments can set up shop,[234] an effort affirmed by San Francisco voters.[235] However, by 2016, San Francisco was rated low by small businesses in a Business Friendliness Survey.[236] Ferry Building in the Embarcadero. Like many U.S. cities, San Francisco once had a significant manufacturing sector employing nearly 60,000 workers in 1969, but nearly all production left for cheaper locations by the 1980s.[237] As of 2014, San Francisco has seen a small resurgence in manufacturing, with more than 4,000 manufacturing jobs across 500 companies, doubling since 2011. The city's largest manufacturing employer is Anchor Brewing Company, and the largest by revenue is Timbuk2.[237] As of the first quarter of 2022, the median value of homes in San Francisco County was $1,297,030. It ranked third in the US for counties with highest median home value, behind Nantucket, Massachusetts and San Mateo County, California.[238] Technology Twitter headquarters on Market St. San Francisco became a hub for technological driven economic growth during the internet boom of the 1990s, and still holds an important position in the world city network today.[170][239] Intense redevelopment towards the "new economy" makes business more technologically minded. Between the years of 1999 and 2000, the job growth rate was 4.9%, creating over 50,000 jobs in technology firms and internet content production.[170] In the second technological boom driven by social media in the mid-2000s, San Francisco became a location for companies such as Apple, Google, Ubisoft, Facebook, and Twitter to base their tech offices and for their employees to live.[240] Tourism and conventions See also: Port of San Francisco The Fisherman's Wharf is a popular tourist attraction. Tourism is one of the city's largest private-sector industries, accounting for more than one out of seven jobs in the city.[215][241] The city's frequent portrayal in music, film, and popular culture has made the city and its landmarks recognizable worldwide. In 2016, it attracted the fifth-highest number of foreign tourists of any city in the United States.[242] More than 25 million visitors arrived in San Francisco in 2016, adding US$9.96 billion to the economy.[243] With a large hotel infrastructure and a world-class convention facility in the Moscone Center, San Francisco is a popular destination for annual conventions and conferences.[244] Some of the most popular tourist attractions in San Francisco, as noted by the Travel Channel, include the Golden Gate Bridge and Alamo Square Park, home to the famous "Painted Ladies". Both of these locations were often used as landscape shots for the hit American television sitcom Full House. There is also Lombard Street, known for its "crookedness" and extensive views. Tourists also visit Pier 39, which offers dining, shopping, entertainment, and views of the bay, sunbathing California sea lions, the Aquarium of the Bay, and the famous Alcatraz Island.[245] Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill San Francisco also offers tourists cultural and unique nightlife in its neighborhoods.[246][247] The new Terminal Project at Pier 27 opened September 25, 2014, as a replacement for the old Pier 35.[248] Itineraries from San Francisco usually include round-trip cruises to Alaska and Mexico. A heightened interest in conventioneering in San Francisco, marked by the establishment of convention centers such as Yerba Buena, acted as a feeder into the local tourist economy and resulted in an increase in the hotel industry: "In 1959, the city had fewer than thirty-three hundred first-class hotel rooms; by 1970, the number was nine thousand; and by 1999, there were more than thirty thousand."[249] The commodification of the Castro District has contributed to San Francisco's tourist economy.[250] Arts and culture Main article: Culture of San Francisco See also: San Francisco in popular culture The Palace of Fine Arts, originally built for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition Although the Financial District, Union Square, and Fisherman's Wharf are well known around the world, San Francisco is also characterized by its numerous culturally rich streetscapes featuring mixed-use neighborhoods anchored around central commercial corridors to which residents and visitors alike can walk.[citation needed] Because of these characteristics,[original research?] San Francisco is ranked the "most walkable" city in the United States by Walkscore.com.[251] Many neighborhoods feature a mix of businesses, restaurants and venues that cater to the daily needs of local residents while also serving many visitors and tourists. Some neighborhoods are dotted with boutiques, cafés and nightlife such as Union Street in Cow Hollow, 24th Street in Noe Valley, Valencia Street in the Mission, Grant Avenue in North Beach, and Irving Street in the Inner Sunset. This approach especially has influenced the continuing South of Market neighborhood redevelopment with businesses and neighborhood services rising alongside high-rise residences.[252][failed verification] The Castro is famous as one of the first gay villages in the country.[253] Since the 1990s, the demand for skilled information technology workers from local startups and nearby Silicon Valley has attracted white-collar workers from all over the world and created a high standard of living in San Francisco.[254] Many neighborhoods that were once blue-collar, middle, and lower class have been gentrifying, as many of the city's traditional business and industrial districts have experienced a renaissance driven by the redevelopment of the Embarcadero, including the neighborhoods South Beach and Mission Bay. The city's property values and household income have risen to among the highest in the nation,[255][256][257] creating a large and upscale restaurant, retail, and entertainment scene. According to a 2014 quality of life survey of global cities, San Francisco has the highest quality of living of any U.S. city.[258] However, due to the exceptionally high cost of living, many of the city's middle and lower-class families have been leaving the city for the outer suburbs of the Bay Area, or for California's Central Valley.[259] By June 2, 2015, the median rent was reported to be as high as $4,225.[260] The high cost of living is due in part to restrictive planning laws which limit new residential construction.[261] The Mission District is the historic center of the city's Chicano/Mexican-American population and greater Hispanic and Latino community. The international character that San Francisco has enjoyed since its founding is continued today by large numbers of immigrants from Asia and Latin America. With 39% of its residents born overseas,[232] San Francisco has numerous neighborhoods filled with businesses and civic institutions catering to new arrivals. In particular, the arrival of many ethnic Chinese, which began to accelerate in the 1970s, has complemented the long-established community historically based in Chinatown throughout the city and has transformed the annual Chinese New Year Parade into the largest event of its kind on the West Coast. With the arrival of the "beat" writers and artists of the 1950s and societal changes culminating in the Summer of Love in the Haight-Ashbury district during the 1960s, San Francisco became a center of liberal activism and of the counterculture that arose at that time. The Democrats and to a lesser extent the Green Party have dominated city politics since the late 1970s, after the last serious Republican challenger for city office lost the 1975 mayoral election by a narrow margin. San Francisco has not voted more than 20% for a Republican presidential or senatorial candidate since 1988.[262] In 2007, the city expanded its Medicaid and other indigent medical programs into the Healthy San Francisco program,[263] which subsidizes certain medical services for eligible residents.[264][265][266] The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, also known as SF MOMA Since 1993, the San Francisco Department of Public Health has distributed 400,000 free syringes every month aimed at reducing HIV and other health risks for drug users, as well as providing disposal sites and services.[267][268][269] San Francisco also has had a very active environmental community. Starting with the founding of the Sierra Club in 1892 to the establishment of the non-profit Friends of the Urban Forest in 1981, San Francisco has been at the forefront of many global discussions regarding the environment.[270][271] The 1980 San Francisco Recycling Program was one of the earliest curbside recycling programs.[272] The city's GoSolarSF incentive promotes solar installations and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is rolling out the CleanPowerSF program to sell electricity from local renewable sources.[273][274] SF Greasecycle is a program to recycle used cooking oil for conversion to biodiesel.[275] The Sunset Reservoir Solar Project, completed in 2010, installed 24,000 solar panels on the roof of the reservoir. The 5-megawatt plant more than tripled the city's 2-megawatt solar generation capacity when it opened in December 2010.[276][277] LGBT Main article: LGBT culture in San Francisco San Francisco Pride is one of the oldest and largest LGBT pride events in the world. San Francisco has long had an LGBT-friendly history. It was home to the first lesbian-rights organization in the United States, Daughters of Bilitis; the first openly gay person to run for public office in the United States, José Sarria; the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, Harvey Milk; the first openly lesbian judge appointed in the U.S., Mary C. Morgan; and the first transgender police commissioner, Theresa Sparks. The city's large gay population has created and sustained a politically and culturally active community over many decades, developing a powerful presence in San Francisco's civic life.[citation needed] Survey data released in 2015 by Gallup places the proportion of LGBT adults in the San Francisco metro area at 6.2%, which is the highest proportion of the 50 most populous metropolitan areas as measured by the polling organization.[278] The gay pride flag was originally developed in San Francisco. One of the most popular destinations for gay tourists internationally, the city hosts San Francisco Pride, one of the largest and oldest pride parades. San Francisco Pride events have been held continuously since 1972. The events are themed and a new theme is created each year.[279] In 2013, over 1.5 million people attended, around 500,000 more than the previous year.[280] Pink Saturday is an annual street party held the Saturday before the pride parade, which coincides with the Dyke march. The Folsom Street Fair (FSF) is an annual BDSM and leather subculture street fair that is held in September, endcapping San Francisco's "Leather Pride Week".[281] It started in 1984 and is California's third-largest single-day, outdoor spectator event and the world's largest leather event and showcase for BDSM products and culture.[282] Performing arts See also: List of theatres in San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, part of the S.F. War Memorial & Performing Arts Center, one of the largest performing arts centers in the U.S. Golden Gate Theatre is located in the historic Theatre District San Francisco's War Memorial and Performing Arts Center hosts some of the most enduring performing-arts companies in the country. The War Memorial Opera House houses the San Francisco Opera, the second-largest opera company in North America[283] as well as the San Francisco Ballet, while the San Francisco Symphony plays in Davies Symphony Hall. Opened in 2013, the SFJAZZ Center hosts jazz performances year round.[284] The Fillmore is a music venue located in the Western Addition. It is the second incarnation of the historic venue that gained fame in the 1960s, housing the stage where now-famous musicians such as the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, and Jefferson Airplane first performed, fostering the San Francisco Sound.[285] It closed its doors in 1971 with a final performance by Santana and reopened in 1994 with a show by the Smashing Pumpkins.[286] San Francisco has a large number of theaters and live performance venues. Local theater companies have been noted for risk taking and innovation.[287] The Tony Award-winning non-profit American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a member of the national League of Resident Theatres. Other local winners of the Regional Theatre Tony Award include the San Francisco Mime Troupe.[288] San Francisco theaters frequently host pre-Broadway engagements and tryout runs,[289] and some original San Francisco productions have later moved to Broadway.[290] Museums Further information: List of museums in San Francisco Bay Area, California § San Francisco The California Palace of the Legion of Honor, part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) houses 20th century and contemporary works of art. It moved to its current building in the South of Market neighborhood in 1995 and attracted more than 600,000 visitors annually.[291] SFMOMA closed for renovation and expansion in 2013. The museum reopened on May 14, 2016, with an addition, designed by Snøhetta, that has doubled the museum's size.[292] The Palace of the Legion of Honor holds primarily European antiquities and works of art at its Lincoln Park building modeled after its Parisian namesake. The de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park features American decorative pieces and anthropological holdings from Africa, Oceania and the Americas, while Asian art is housed in the Asian Art Museum. Opposite the de Young stands the California Academy of Sciences, a natural history museum that also hosts the Morrison Planetarium and Steinhart Aquarium. Located on Pier 15 on the Embarcadero, the Exploratorium is an interactive science museum. The Contemporary Jewish Museum is a non-collecting institution that hosts a broad array of temporary exhibitions. On Nob Hill, the Cable Car Museum is a working museum featuring the cable car powerhouse, which drives the cables.[293] Sports Further information: Sports in the San Francisco Bay Area Oracle Park, home of the SF Giants Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants have played in San Francisco since moving from New York in 1958. The Giants play at Oracle Park, which opened in 2000.[294] The Giants won World Series titles in 2010, 2012, and in 2014. The Giants have boasted stars such as Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Barry Bonds (MLB's career home run leader). In 2012, San Francisco was ranked No. 1 in a study that examined which U.S. metro areas have produced the most Major Leaguers since 1920.[295] The San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) began play in 1946 as an All-America Football Conference (AAFC) league charter member, moved to the NFL in 1950 and into Candlestick Park in 1971. The team left the San Francisco area in 2014, moving approximately 50 miles south to Santa Clara, and began playing its home games at Levi's Stadium,[296][297] but despite the relocation did not change its name from the "San Francisco" 49ers. The 49ers won five Super Bowl titles between 1982 and 1995. The Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors NBA's Golden State Warriors have played in the San Francisco Bay Area since moving from Philadelphia in 1962. The Warriors played as the San Francisco Warriors, from 1962 to 1971, before being renamed the Golden State Warriors prior to the 1971–1972 season in an attempt to present the team as a representation of the whole state of California, which had already adopted "The Golden State" nickname.[298] The Warriors' arena, Chase Center, is located in San Francisco.[299] After winning two championships in Philadelphia, they have won five championships since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area,[300] and made five consecutive NBA Finals from 2015 to 2019, winning three of them. They won again in 2022, the franchise's first championship while residing in San Francisco proper. At the collegiate level, the San Francisco Dons compete in NCAA Division I. Bill Russell led the Dons basketball team to NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956. There is also the San Francisco State Gators, who compete in NCAA Division II.[301] Oracle Park hosted the annual Fight Hunger Bowl college football game from 2002 through 2013 before it moved to Santa Clara. There are a handful of lower-league soccer clubs in San Francisco playing mostly from April – June. Club Founded Venue League Tier level El Farolito 1985 Boxer Stadium NPSL 4 San Francisco City FC 2001 Kezar Stadium USL League Two 4 San Francisco Glens SC 1961 Skyline College USL League Two 4 SF Elite Metro 2017 Negoesco Stadium NISA Nation 5 Bay to Breakers is an annual foot race known for colorful costumes. The Bay to Breakers footrace, held annually since 1912, is best known for colorful costumes and a celebratory community spirit.[302] The San Francisco Marathon attracts more than 21,000 participants.[303] The Escape from Alcatraz triathlon has, since 1980, attracted 2,000 top professional and amateur triathletes for its annual race.[304] The Olympic Club, founded in 1860, is the oldest athletic club in the United States. Its private golf course has hosted the U.S. Open on five occasions. San Francisco hosted the 2013 America's Cup yacht racing competition.[305] With an ideal climate for outdoor activities, San Francisco has ample resources and opportunities for amateur and participatory sports and recreation. There are more than 200 miles (320 km) of bicycle paths, lanes and bike routes in the city.[306] San Francisco residents have often ranked among the fittest in the country.[307] Golden Gate Park has miles of paved and unpaved running trails as well as a golf course and disc golf course. Boating, sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing are among the popular activities on San Francisco Bay, and the city maintains a yacht harbor in the Marina District. San Francisco also has had Esports teams, such as the Overwatch League's San Francisco Shock. Established in 2017,[308] they won two back-to-back championship titles in 2019 and 2020.[309][310] Parks and recreation See also: List of parks in San Francisco Golden Gate Park is the 3rd most-visited city park in the U.S., after Central Park and the National Mall.[311] Several of San Francisco's parks and nearly all of its beaches form part of the regional Golden Gate National Recreation Area, one of the most visited units of the National Park system in the United States with over 13 million visitors a year. Among the GGNRA's attractions within the city are Ocean Beach, which runs along the Pacific Ocean shoreline and is frequented by a vibrant surfing community, and Baker Beach, which is located in a cove west of the Golden Gate. The Presidio of San Francisco is the former 18th century Spanish military base, which today is one of the city's largest parks and home to numerous museums and institutions. Also within the Presidio is Crissy Field, a former airfield that was restored to its natural salt marsh ecosystem. The GGNRA also administers Fort Funston, Lands End, Fort Mason, and Alcatraz. The National Park Service separately administers the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park – a fleet of historic ships and waterfront property around Aquatic Park.[citation needed] Painted Ladies on Alamo Square. The Cliff House over Ocean Beach There are more than 220 parks maintained by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department.[312] The largest and best-known city park is Golden Gate Park,[313] which stretches from the center of the city west to the Pacific Ocean. Once covered in native grasses and sand dunes, the park was conceived in the 1860s and was created by the extensive planting of thousands of non-native trees and plants. The large park is rich with cultural and natural attractions such as the Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden and San Francisco Botanical Garden.[citation needed] Lake Merced is a fresh-water lake surrounded by parkland[citation needed] and near the San Francisco Zoo, a city-owned park that houses more than 250 animal species, many of which are endangered.[314] The only park managed by the California State Park system located principally in San Francisco, Candlestick Point was the state's first urban recreation area.[315] Most of San Francisco's islands are protected as parkland or nature reserves. Alcatraz Island, operated by the National Park Service, is open to the public. The Farallon Islands are protected wildlife refuges. The Seal Rocks are protected as part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Red Rock Island is the only privately owned island in San Francisco Bay, but is uninhabited. Yerba Buena Island is largely utilized by the military. San Francisco is the first city in the U.S. to have a park within a 10-Minute Walk of every resident.[316][317] It also ranks fifth in the U.S. for park access and quality in the 2018 ParkScore ranking of the top 100 park systems across the United States, according to the nonprofit Trust for Public Land.[318] Government Main articles: Government of San Francisco, Politics of San Francisco, and Mayors of San Francisco See also: San Francisco City Hall San Francisco City Hall, built 1913–16 and designed by Arthur Brown Jr. The mayor is also the county executive, and the county Board of Supervisors acts as the city council. The government of San Francisco is a charter city and is constituted of two co-equal branches: the executive branch is headed by the mayor and includes other citywide elected and appointed officials as well as the civil service; the 11-member Board of Supervisors, the legislative branch, is headed by a president and is responsible for passing laws and budgets, though San Franciscans also make use of direct ballot initiatives to pass legislation.[319] Because of its unique city-county status, the local government is able to exercise jurisdiction over certain property outside city limits. San Francisco International Airport, though located in San Mateo County, is owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco. San Francisco's largest jail complex (County Jail No. 5) is located in San Mateo County, in an unincorporated area adjacent to San Bruno. San Francisco was also granted a perpetual leasehold over the Hetch Hetchy Valley and watershed in Yosemite National Park by the Raker Act in 1913.[320] The Supreme Court of California is based in the Earl Warren Building. The members of the Board of Supervisors are elected as representatives of specific districts within the city.[321] Upon the death or resignation of the mayor, the President of the Board of Supervisors becomes acting mayor until the full Board elects an interim replacement for the remainder of the term. In 1978, Dianne Feinstein assumed the office following the assassination of George Moscone and was later selected by the board to finish the term.[citation needed] In 2011, Ed Lee was selected by the board to finish the term of Gavin Newsom, who resigned to take office as Lieutenant Governor of California.[322] Lee (who won two elections to remain mayor) was temporarily replaced by San Francisco Board of Supervisors President London Breed after he died on December 12, 2017. Supervisor Mark Farrell was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to finish Lee's term on January 23, 2018. Most local offices in San Francisco are elected using ranked choice voting.[323] San Francisco Federal Building San Francisco serves as the regional hub for many arms of the federal bureaucracy, including the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Federal Reserve Bank, and the U.S. Mint. Until decommissioning in the early 1990s, the city had major military installations at the Presidio, Treasure Island, and Hunters Point—a legacy still reflected in the annual celebration of Fleet Week. The State of California uses San Francisco as the home of the state supreme court and other state agencies. Foreign governments maintain more than seventy consulates in San Francisco.[324] The municipal budget for fiscal year 2015–16 was $8.99 billion,[325] and is one of the largest city budgets in the United States.[326] The City of San Francisco spends more per resident than any city other than Washington, D.C., over $10,000 in FY 2015–2016.[326] The city employs around 27,000 workers.[327] The historic Browning Courthouse In the California State Senate, San Francisco is in the 11th Senate District, represented by Democrat Scott Wiener. In the California State Assembly, it is split between the 17th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Matt Haney, and the 19th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Phil Ting.[328] In the United States House of Representatives, San Francisco is split between two congressional districts. Most of the city is in the 11th District, represented by Nancy Pelosi (D–San Francisco). A sliver in the southwest is part of the 15th District represented by Kevin Mullin (D–South San Francisco).[329] Pelosi served as the House Speaker from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2023, a post she also held from 2007 through 2011. She has also held the post of House Minority Leader, from 2003 to 2007 and 2011 to 2019. Education University of San Francisco Colleges and universities See also: List of colleges and universities in San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco is the sole campus of the University of California system entirely dedicated to graduate education in health and biomedical sciences. It is ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States[330] and operates the UCSF Medical Center, which ranks as the number one hospital in California and the number 5 in the country.[331] UCSF is a major local employer, second in size only to the city and county government.[332][333][334] A 43-acre (17 ha) Mission Bay campus was opened in 2003, complementing its original facility in Parnassus Heights. It contains research space and facilities to foster biotechnology and life sciences entrepreneurship and will double the size of UCSF's research enterprise.[335] All in all, UCSF operates more than 20 facilities across San Francisco.[336] The University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, founded in Civic Center in 1878, is the oldest law school in California and claims more judges on the state bench than any other institution.[337] San Francisco's two University of California institutions have recently formed an official affiliation in the UCSF/UC Law SF Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy.[338] San Francisco Art Institute is the oldest art school in the Western U.S. San Francisco State University is part of the California State University system and is located near Lake Merced.[339] The school has approximately 30,000 students and awards undergraduate, master's and doctoral degrees in more than 100 disciplines.[339] The City College of San Francisco, with its main facility in the Ingleside district, is one of the largest two-year community colleges in the country. It has an enrollment of about 100,000 students and offers an extensive continuing education program.[340] University of California College of the Law Founded in 1855, the University of San Francisco, a private Jesuit university located on Lone Mountain, is the oldest institution of higher education in San Francisco and one of the oldest universities established west of the Mississippi River.[341] Golden Gate University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational university formed in 1901 and located in the Financial District. With an enrollment of 13,000 students, the Academy of Art University is the largest institute of art and design in the nation.[342] Founded in 1871, the San Francisco Art Institute is the oldest art school west of the Mississippi.[343] The California College of the Arts, located north of Potrero Hill, has programs in architecture, fine arts, design, and writing.[344] The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the only independent music school on the West Coast, grants degrees in orchestral instruments, chamber music, composition, and conducting. The California Culinary Academy, associated with the Le Cordon Bleu program, offers programs in the culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, and hospitality and restaurant management. California Institute of Integral Studies, founded in 1968, offers a variety of graduate programs in its Schools of Professional Psychology & Health, and Consciousness and Transformation. Primary and secondary schools See also: San Francisco public grammar schools and List of high schools in California § San Francisco County The San Francisco Unified School District operates 114 schools and is the oldest school district in California. Public schools are run by the San Francisco Unified School District, which covers the entire city and county,[345] as well as the California State Board of Education for some charter schools. Lowell High School, the oldest public high school in the U.S. west of the Mississippi,[346] and the smaller School of the Arts High School are two of San Francisco's magnet schools at the secondary level. Public school students attend schools based on an assignment system rather than neighborhood proximity.[347] Just under 30% of the city's school-age population attends one of San Francisco's more than 100 private or parochial schools, compared to a 10% rate nationwide.[348] Nearly 40 of those schools are Catholic schools managed by the Archdiocese of San Francisco.[349] San Francisco has nearly 300 preschool programs primarily operated by Head Start, San Francisco Unified School District, private for-profit, private non-profit and family child care providers.[350] All 4-year-old children living in San Francisco are offered universal access to preschool through the Preschool for All program.[351] Media Further information: Media in the San Francisco Bay Area This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) San Francisco Chronicle building The major daily newspaper in San Francisco is the San Francisco Chronicle, which is currently Northern California's most widely circulated newspaper.[352] The Chronicle is most famous for a former columnist, the late Herb Caen, whose daily musings attracted critical acclaim and represented the "voice of San Francisco". The San Francisco Examiner, once the cornerstone of William Randolph Hearst's media empire and the home of Ambrose Bierce, declined in circulation over the years and now takes the form of a free daily tabloid, under new ownership.[353][354] Sing Tao Daily claims to be the largest of several Chinese language dailies that serve the Bay Area.[355] SF Weekly is the city's alternative weekly newspaper. San Francisco and 7x7 are major glossy magazines about San Francisco. The national newsmagazine Mother Jones is also based in San Francisco. San Francisco is home to online-only media publications such as SFist, and AsianWeek. The Julia Morgan-designed Hearst Building, the western headquarters of the Hearst Corporation The San Francisco Bay Area is the sixth-largest television market.[356] It is the fourth-largest radio market after that of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.[357] in the U.S. All major U.S. television networks have affiliates serving the region, with most of them based in the city. CNN, MSNBC, BBC, Russia Today, and CCTV America also have regional news bureaus in San Francisco. Bloomberg West was launched in 2011 from a studio on the Embarcadero and CNBC broadcasts from One Market Plaza since 2015. ESPN uses the local ABC studio for their broadcasting. The regional sports network, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and its sister station Comcast SportsNet California, are both located in San Francisco. The Pac-12 Network is also based in San Francisco. Sutro Tower is a broadcast tower and local landmark. Public broadcasting outlets include both a television station and a radio station, both broadcasting under the call letters KQED from a facility near the Potrero Hill neighborhood. KQED-FM is the most-listened-to National Public Radio affiliate in the country.[358] KUSF is a student-run radio station by college students from the University of San Francisco.[359] Another local broadcaster, KPOO, is an independent, African-American owned and operated noncommercial radio station established in 1971.[360] CNET, founded 1994, and Salon.com, 1995, are based in San Francisco. Sutro Tower is an important broadcast tower located between Mount Sutro and the Twin Peaks, built in 1973 for KTVU, KRON, and KPIX. Infrastructure Transportation See also: Transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area Public transportation See also: San Francisco Municipal Railway A San Francisco cable car with Alcatraz seen behind Transit is the most used form of transportation every day in San Francisco. Every weekday, more than 560,000 people travel on Muni's 69 bus routes and more than 140,000 customers ride the Muni Metro light rail system.[361] 32% of San Francisco residents use public transportation for their daily commute to work, ranking it fourth in the United States and first on the West Coast.[362] The San Francisco Municipal Railway, primarily known as Muni, is the primary public transit system of San Francisco. Muni is the seventh-largest transit system in the United States, with 210,848,310 rides in 2006.[363] The system operates a combined light rail and subway system, the Muni Metro, as well as large bus and trolley coach networks.[364] Additionally, it runs a historic streetcar line, which runs on Market Street from Castro Street to Fisherman's Wharf.[364] It also operates the famous cable cars,[364] which have been designated as a National Historic Landmark and are a major tourist attraction.[365] Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), a regional Rapid Transit system, connects San Francisco with the East Bay and San Jose through the underwater Transbay Tube. The line runs under Market Street to Civic Center where it turns south to the Mission District, the southern part of the city, and through northern San Mateo County, to the San Francisco International Airport, and Millbrae.[364] Muni Metro, run by SF Muni Another commuter rail system, Caltrain, runs from San Francisco along the San Francisco Peninsula to San Jose.[364] Historically, trains operated by Southern Pacific Lines ran from San Francisco to Los Angeles, via Palo Alto and San Jose. Amtrak California Thruway Motorcoach runs a shuttle bus from three locations in San Francisco to its station across the bay in Emeryville.[366] Additionally, BART offers connections to San Francisco from Amtrak's stations in Emeryville, Oakland and Richmond, and Caltrain offers connections in San Jose and Santa Clara. Thruway service also runs south to San Luis Obispo with connection to the Pacific Surfliner. San Francisco was an early adopter of carsharing in America. The non-profit City CarShare opened in 2001[367] and Zipcar closely followed.[368] Golden Gate Ferries connect the city to North Bay communities, while San Francisco Bay Ferry connects the city to both the North and East Bay. San Francisco Bay Ferry operates from the Ferry Building and Pier 39 to points in Oakland, Alameda, Bay Farm Island, South San Francisco, Richmond, and north to Vallejo in Solano County.[369] The Golden Gate Ferry is the other ferry operator with service between San Francisco and Marin County.[370] SolTrans runs supplemental bus service between the Ferry Building and Vallejo. To accommodate the large amount of San Francisco citizens who commute to the Silicon Valley daily, employers like Genentech, Google, and Apple have begun to provide private bus transportation for their employees, from San Francisco locations. These buses have quickly become a heated topic of debate within the city, as protesters claim they block bus lanes and delay public buses.[371] Freeways and roads Further information: List of streets in San Francisco The Bay Bridge connects the city to Oakland and the East Bay. In 2014, only 41.3% of residents commuted by driving alone or carpooling in private vehicles in San Francisco, a decline from 48.6% in 2000.[372] There are 1,088 miles of streets in San Francisco with 946 miles of these streets being surface streets, and 59 miles of freeways.[372] Due to its unique geography, and the freeway revolts of the late 1950s,[373] Interstate 80 begins at the approach to the Bay Bridge and is the only direct automobile link to the East Bay. U.S. Route 101 connects to the western terminus of Interstate 80 and provides access to the south of the city along San Francisco Bay toward Silicon Valley. Northward, the routing for U.S. 101 uses arterial streets to connect to the Golden Gate Bridge, the only direct automobile link to Marin County and the North Bay. As part of the retrofitting of the Golden Gate Bridge and installation of a suicide barrier, starting in 2019 the railings on the west side of the pedestrian walkway were replaced with thinner, more flexible slats in order to improve the bridge's aerodynamic tolerance of high wind to 100 mph (161 km/h). Starting in June 2020, reports were received of a loud hum produced by the new railing slats, heard across the city when a strong west wind was blowing.[374] Lombard Street in Russian Hill is famed as "the most crooked street in the world". State Route 1 also enters San Francisco from the north via the Golden Gate Bridge and bisects the city as the 19th Avenue arterial thoroughfare, joining with Interstate 280 at the city's southern border. Interstate 280 continues south from San Francisco, and also turns to the east along the southern edge of the city, terminating just south of the Bay Bridge in the South of Market neighborhood. After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, city leaders demolished the Embarcadero Freeway and a portion of the Central Freeway, converting them into street-level boulevards.[373] State Route 35 enters the city from the south as Skyline Boulevard and terminates at its intersection with Highway 1. State Route 82 enters San Francisco from the south as Mission Street, and terminates shortly thereafter at its junction with 280. The western terminus of the historic transcontinental Lincoln Highway, the first road across America, is in San Francisco's Lincoln Park. Vision Zero In 2014, San Francisco committed to Vision Zero, with the goal of ending all traffic fatalities caused by motor vehicles within the city by 2024.[375] San Francisco's Vision Zero plan calls for investing in engineering, enforcement, and education, and focusing on dangerous intersections. In 2013, 25 people were killed by car and truck drivers while walking and biking in the city and 9 car drivers and passengers were killed in collisions. In 2019, 42 people were killed in traffic collisions in San Francisco.[376] Airports Main article: San Francisco International Airport San Francisco International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world Though located 13 miles (21 km) south of downtown in unincorporated San Mateo County, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is under the jurisdiction of the City and County of San Francisco. SFO is a hub for United Airlines[377] and Alaska Airlines.[378] SFO is a major international gateway to Asia and Europe, with the largest international terminal in North America.[379] In 2011, SFO was the eighth-busiest airport in the U.S. and the 22nd-busiest in the world, handling over 40.9 million passengers.[380] Located in the South Bay, the San Jose International Airport (SJC) is the second-busiest airport in the Bay Area, followed by Oakland International Airport, which is a popular, low-cost alternative to SFO. Geographically, Oakland Airport is approximately the same distance from downtown San Francisco as SFO, but due to its location across San Francisco Bay, it is greater driving distance from San Francisco.[citation needed] Cycling and walking Main article: Cycling in San Francisco Bay Wheels station on Market St. Cycling is a popular mode of transportation in San Francisco, with 75,000 residents commuting by bicycle each day.[381] In recent years, the city has installed better cycling infrastructure such as protected bike lanes and parking racks.[382] Bay Wheels, previously named Bay Area Bike Share at inception, launched in August 2013 with 700 bikes in downtown San Francisco, selected cities in the East Bay, and San Jose. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and Bay Area Air Quality Management District are responsible for the operation with management provided by Motivate.[383] A major expansion started in 2017, along with a rebranding as Ford GoBike; the company received its current name in 2019.[384] Pedestrian traffic is also widespread. In 2015, Walk Score ranked San Francisco the second-most walkable city in the United States.[385][386][387] San Francisco has significantly higher rates of pedestrian and bicyclist traffic deaths than the United States on average. In 2013, 21 pedestrians were killed in vehicle collisions, the highest since 2001,[388] which is 2.5 deaths per 100,000 population – 70% higher than the national average of 1.5.[389] San Francisco cycling event Cycling is becoming increasingly popular in the city. The 2010 Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) annual bicycle count showed the number of cyclists at 33 locations had increased 58% from the 2006 baseline counts.[390] In 2008, the MTA estimated that about 128,000 trips were made by bicycle each day in the city, or 6% of total trips.[391] As of 2019, 2.6% of the city's streets have protected bike lanes, with 28 miles of protected bike lanes in the city.[361] Since 2006, San Francisco has received a Bicycle Friendly Community status of "Gold" from the League of American Bicyclists.[392] In 2022 a measure on the ballot passed to protect JFK drive in Golden Gate Park as a pedestrian and biking space with 59% of voters in favor.[393] Public safety See also: History of the San Francisco Police Department The San Francisco Police Department was founded in 1849.[394] The portions of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area located within the city, including the Presidio and Ocean Beach, are patrolled by the United States Park Police. The San Francisco Fire Department provides both fire suppression and emergency medical services to the city.[395] Sister cities Main articles: Sister cities of San Francisco, California and List of diplomatic missions in San Francisco San Francisco participates in the Sister Cities program.[396] A total of 41 consulates general and 23 honorary consulates have offices in the San Francisco Bay Area.[397] Notable residents Main article: List of people from San Francisco See also San Francisco Bay Area portal Cities portal flag California portal San Francisco Bay Area List of cities and towns in California List of counties in California List of people from San Francisco Northern California Megaregion Ships lost in San Francisco USS San Francisco, 3 ships United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, also known simply as Alcatraz (English: /ˈælkəˌtræz/, Spanish: [alkaˈtɾas] "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 in 1910–12 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. The three-story cellhouse included the four main cell blocks – A-block through D-block – the warden's office, visitation room, the library, and the barber shop. The prison cells typically measured 9 feet (2.7 m) by 5 ft (1.5 m) and 7 ft (2.1 m) high. The cells were primitive and lacked privacy. They were furnished with a bed, desk, washbasin, a toilet on the back wall, and few items other than a blanket. African Americans were segregated from other inmates in cell designation due to racism during the Jim Crow era. D-Block housed the worst inmates, and six cells at its end were designated "The Hole". Prisoners with behavioral problems were sent to these for periods of often brutal punishment. The dining hall and kitchen extended from the main building. Prisoners and staff ate three meals a day together. The Alcatraz Hospital was located above the dining hall. Prison corridors were named after major U.S. streets, such as Broadway and Michigan Avenue, of New York and Chicago, respectively. Working at the prison was considered a privilege for inmates. Those who earned privileges were employed in the Model Industries Building and New Industries Building during the day, actively involved in providing for the military in jobs such as sewing and woodwork, and performing various maintenance and laundry chores. The prison closed in 1963, but Alcatraz was reopened as a public museum. The island and prison were occupied by Native Americans from 1969 to 1971. It is one of San Francisco's major tourist attractions, attracting some 1.5 million visitors annually. Now operated by the National Park Service's Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the former prison is being restored and maintained. History Construction Alcatraz Main Cellhouse The main cellhouse was built incorporating some parts of Fort Alcatraz's citadel, a partially fortified barracks from 1859 that had come to be used as a jail during the Civil War for alleged Confederate sympathizers.[3] C. L. Weller, the Chairman of the State Democratic Committee and brother of California Governor John B. Weller was among one of the first prisoners housed there.[4] A new cellhouse was built from 1910 to 1912 on a budget of $250,000 (approximately $7,810,000 in 2023). Upon completion, the 500 feet (150 m) long concrete building was reputedly the longest concrete building in the world at the time. This building was modernized in 1933 and 1934 and became the main cellhouse of the federal penitentiary. The building closed in 1963.[5]: 76  When the new concrete prison was built, many materials were reused in its construction. Iron staircases in the interior and the cellhouse door near the barber's shop at the end of A-block were retained from the old citadel and massive granite blocks originally used as gun mounts were reused as the wharf's bulkheads and retaining walls. [6] Many of the old cell bars were used to reinforce the walls, causing structural problems later due to the fact that many placed near the edge were subject to erosion from the salt air and wind over the years.[6][dubious – discuss] Entrance After the United States Army's use of the island for over 80 years, it was transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which hoped an escape-proof jail would help break the crime wave of the 1920s and 1930s.[7] The Department of Justice acquired the Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz on October 12, 1933, and it became a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility in August 1934. $260,000 was spent to modernize and improve it from January 1934.[8][9] George Hess of the United States Public Health Service was appointed chief medical officer and Edward W. Twitchell became a consultant in psychiatry for Alcatraz in January 1934.[9] The hospital was checked by three officials from the Marine Hospital of San Francisco.[9] The Bureau of Prisons personnel arrived on Alcatraz in early February; among them was acting chief clerk Loring O. Mills. In April 1934, the old material was removed from the prison; holes were cut in the concrete and 269 cell fronts were installed, built using four carloads of steel ordered from the Stewart Iron Works.[9] Two of four new stairways were built, as were 12 doors to the utility corridors and gratings at the top of the cells. On 26 April, a small accidental fire broke out on the roof and an electrician injured his foot by dropping a manhole cover on it.[9] The Anchor Post Fence Company added fencing around Alcatraz and the Enterprise Electric Works added emergency lighting in the morgue and switchboard operations.[9] In June 1934, the Teletouch Corporation of New York began the installation of an "electro-magnetic gun or metal detecting system" at Alcatraz; detectors were added on the wharf, at the front entrance into the cellblock, and at the rear entrance gate.[9] The correctional officers were instructed on how to operate the new locking devices in July 1934, and both the United States Coast Guard and the San Francisco Police Department tested the new radio equipment.[9] Final checks and assessments were made on the first two days of August.[9] Early history Alcatraz laundry service Alcatraz was intended for prisoners who continuously caused trouble at other federal prisons. It would be a "last resort prison", to hold the worst of the worst who had no hope of rehabilitation.[10][11] On August 11, 1934, the first batch of 137 prisoners arrived at Alcatraz from the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, having traveled by rail to Santa Venetia, California. Before being escorted to Alcatraz, they were handcuffed in high-security coaches and guarded by some 60 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agents, U.S. Marshals, and railway security officials.[9][12] Most of the prisoners were notorious bank robbers, counterfeiters, or murderers.[12] Among the first inmates were also 14 men from McNeil Island, Washington.[9] On August 22, 1934, 43 prisoners arrived from Atlanta Penitentiary and 10 from North Eastern Penitentiary, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.[9] On 1 September, one prisoner arrived from Washington Asylum and Jail and seven from the District of Columbia Reformatory in Virginia, and on 4 September, another batch of 103 prisoners arrived by train from Leavenworth.[9] Prisoners continued to arrive, mainly from Leavenworth and Atlanta, into 1935 and by June 30, 1935, the penitentiary's first anniversary, it had a population of 242 prisoners, although some inmates such as Verrill Rapp had already been transferred from Alcatraz some months earlier.[9] On Alcatraz's first anniversary, the Bureau of Prisons wrote, "The establishment of this institution not only provided a secure place for the detention of the more difficult type of criminal but has had a good effect upon discipline in our other penitentiaries also. No serious disturbance of any kind has been reported during the year." The metal detectors often overheated and had to be turned off. After the Teletouch Corporation failed to address the problem, their contract was terminated in 1937 and they were charged over $200 for three new detectors supplied by Federal Laboratories.[9] On January 10, 1935, a severe storm caused a landslide on Alcatraz, causing the Model Industries Building to slide.[9] This prompted a series of changes to the structures on the island. A riprap was built around the Model Industries Building, it was strengthened, and a guard tower added to the roof in June 1936. That same month, the barracks building was remodeled into 11 new apartments and nine single rooms for bachelors; by this time there were 52 families living on Alcatraz, including 126 women and children.[9] The problems with the Model Industries Building and continuing utility problems with some of the old buildings and systems led to extensive updates in 1937, including new tool-proof grills on the ventilators of the cell house roof, two new boilers installed in the power house, and a new pump for salt water sanitation and guardrails added to stairways.[9] In 1939–40, a $1.1 million redevelopment was begun, including construction of the New Industries Building, a complete overhaul of the power house with a new diesel engine, the building of a new water tower to solve the water storage problem, new apartment blocks for officers, improvements to the dock, and the conversion of D-block into isolation cells.[9] The changes were completed in July 1941. The workshops of the New Industries Building became highly productive, making Army uniforms, cargo nets, and other items in high demand during World War II. In June 1945, it was reported that the federal penitentiaries had made 60,000 nets.[9] Reputation Henri Young, who was tried for the murder of a fellow inmate in 1941 Alcatraz gained notoriety from its inception as the toughest prison in America, considered by many the world's most fearsome prison of the day. Former prisoners reported brutality and inhumane conditions which severely tested their sanity.[13][14][15] Ed Wutke was the first prisoner to commit suicide in Alcatraz. Rufe Persful chopped off his fingers after grabbing an axe from the firetruck, begging another inmate to do the same to his other hand.[15] One writer described Alcatraz as "the great garbage can of San Francisco Bay, into which every federal prison dumped its most rotten apples".[16] In 1939, the new U.S. Attorney General, Frank Murphy, attacked the penitentiary, saying, "The whole institution is conductive to psychology that builds up a sinister ambitious attitude among prisoners."[9] The prison's reputation was not helped by the arrival of more of America's most dangerous felons, including Robert Stroud, the "Birdman of Alcatraz", in 1942. He entered the prison system at age 19, and never left, spending 17 years at Alcatraz. Stroud killed a guard, tangled with other inmates and spent 42 of his 54 years in prison in solitary confinement. Despite its reputation, with many former inmates calling it "Hellcatraz", some prisoners reported that the living conditions there were much better than most other prisons in the country, especially the food, and many volunteered to come to Alcatraz.[7] On December 3, 1940, Henri Young murdered fellow inmate Rufus McCain. Running downstairs from the furniture shop to the tailor's shop where McCain worked, Young violently stabbed McCain in the neck; McCain died five hours later.[9] Young had been sent to Alcatraz for murder in 1933, and was later involved in an escape attempt during which gangster Doc Barker was shot to death. He spent nearly 22 months in solitary confinement as a result, but was eventually permitted to work in the furniture shop. Young went to trial in 1941, with his attorneys claiming that their client could not be held responsible for the murder, since he had allegedly been subjected to "cruel and unusual punishment" by prison guards prior to the act. The trial brought Alcatraz into further disrepute.[9] Ultimately, Young was convicted of manslaughter and his prison sentence was only extended by a few years. From left to right: Warden James A. Johnston, Associate Warden E.J. Miller, District Attorney Frank J. Hennessy Final years By the 1950s, conditions at Alcatraz had improved, and inmates were gradually permitted more privileges, such as playing musical instruments, watching movies on weekends, painting, and radio use; the strict code of silence became more relaxed, and prisoners were permitted to talk quietly.[15] However, it was by far the most expensive prison in the United States, and many still perceived it as America's most extreme jail.[17][9] In his annual report for 1952, Bureau of Prisons Director James V. Bennett called for a more centralized institution to replace Alcatraz.[9] A 1959 report indicated that the facility was over three times more expensive to run than the average American prison; $10 per prisoner per day compared to $3 in most other prisons.[18] The problem was made worse by the buildings' structural deterioration from exposure to salt spray, which would require $5 million to fix. Major repairs began in 1958, but by 1961 engineers considered the prison a lost cause. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy submitted plans for a new maximum-security institution at Marion, Illinois.[9] The June 1962 escape from Alcatraz led to acrimonious investigations. Combined with the major structural problems and expensive operation, this led to its closure on March 21, 1963.[18] The final Bureau of Prisons report said of Alcatraz: "The institution served an important purpose in taking the strain off the older and greatly overcrowded institutions in Atlanta, Leavenworth and McNeil Island since it enabled us to move to the smaller, closely guarded institution for the escape artists, the big-time racketeers, the inveterate connivers and those who needed protection from other groups."[9] The former prison and island are now a museum. It is one of San Francisco's major tourist attractions drawing in some 1.5 million visitors annually (2010).[19][20] Visitors arrive by boat and are given a tour of the cellhouse and island, and a slide show and audio narration with anecdotes from former inmates, guards and rangers on Alcatraz.[21] The atmosphere of the former penitentiary is still considered to be "eerie", "ghostly" and "chilling".[21] Protected by the National Park Service and the National Register of Historic Places, the salt-damaged buildings of the former prison are now being restored and maintained.[22] Escape attempts Main article: List of Alcatraz escape attempts Alcatraz Island from San Francisco, March 1962 According to the prison's correctional officers, once a convict arrived on the Alcatraz wharf, his first thoughts were on how to leave.[23] During its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary claimed that no prisoner successfully escaped. A total of 36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts, two men trying twice; 23 were caught, six were shot and killed during their escape, two drowned, and five are listed as "missing and presumed drowned".[24] The first escape attempt was made on April 27, 1936, by Joseph Bowers, who was assigned to burn trash at the incinerator. He was scaling a chain link fence at the edge of the island when noticed. When he refused orders of the correctional officer located at the West Road guard tower to come down he was shot. He was seriously injured in the fall from over 15 m (50 ft) and consequently died.[7] The second escape attempt was on December 16, 1937, by Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe. During their work assignment in one of the workshops, they cut the flat iron bars of the window and climbed into the bay. It was a stormy day and the sea was rough. Though never found, prison authorities presumed them to have died, assuming they drowned in the bay and their bodies were swept out to sea.[7] Battle of Alcatraz Main article: Battle of Alcatraz Bernard Coy, Marvin Hubbard and Joseph Cretzer were killed in the Battle of Alcatraz. Carnes, Shockley and Thompson on way to court for trial in the Battle of Alcatraz The most violent escape attempt occurred on May 2–4, 1946, when a failed attempt by six prisoners led to the Battle of Alcatraz, also known as the "Alcatraz Blast Out". Bernard Coy, Joseph Cretzer, Sam Shockley, Clarence Carnes, Marvin Hubbard and Miran Thompson took control of the cell house by overpowering correctional officers, and were able to enter the weapons room, where they then demanded keys to the outside recreation door.[7][25] A quick-thinking guard, William Miller, turned over all but the key to the outer door, which he pocketed. The prisoners' aim was to escape by boat from the dock, but when they were unable to open the outside door, they decided to battle it out. They held Miller and a second guard hostage. Prompted by Shockley and Thompson, Cretzer shot the hostages at very close range. Miller succumbed to his injuries while the second guard, Harold Stites, was also killed at the cell house. Although Shockley, Thompson, and Carnes returned to their cells, the other three, Coy, Cretzer and Hubbard, persisted with their fight.[7][25] The U.S. Marines intervened and killed the three prisoners. In this battle, apart from the guards and prisoners killed, 17 other guards and one prisoner were also injured. Shockley, Thompson, and Carnes were tried for the killing of the correctional officers. Shockley and Thompson were sentenced to death in the gas chamber, which was carried out at San Quentin in December 1948. However, Carnes, who was only 19 years of age, was given a second life sentence.[7][25] "Escape from Alcatraz" Main article: June 1962 Alcatraz escape attempt On June 11, 1962, Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin attempted to escape using careful planning. Behind their cells in Cell Block B was a 3-foot (0.91 m) wide unguarded utility corridor. The prisoners chiseled away the salt-damaged concrete from around an air vent leading to this corridor, using tools such as a metal spoon soldered with silver from a dime and an electric drill improvised from a stolen vacuum cleaner motor. The noise was disguised by accordions played during music hour, and the progress was concealed by false walls which, in the dark recesses of the cells, fooled the guards.[7] Side view of model head found in Frank Morris's cell The escape route led up through a fan vent; the prisoners removed the fan and motor, replacing them with a steel grill and leaving a shaft large enough for a prisoner to enter. Stealing a carborundum abrasive cord from the prison workshop, the prisoners then removed the rivets from the grill. In their beds, they placed papier-mâché dummies made with human hair stolen from the barbershop. Over many weeks, the escapees also made an inflatable raft from over 50 stolen raincoats, which they prepared on the top of the cell block, concealed from the guards by sheets which had been put up over the sides. They escaped through a vent in the roof and departed Alcatraz.[7][25] The FBI investigation was aided by another prisoner, Allen West, who was part of the escapees' group but was left behind. West's false wall kept slipping so he held it in place with cement, which set. When Morris and the Anglins accelerated the schedule, West desperately chipped away at the wall, but by the time he got out, his companions were gone. Hundreds of leads and theories have been pursued by the FBI and local law enforcement officials in the ensuing years, but no conclusive evidence has ever surfaced favoring the success or failure of the attempt. The FBI's investigation was eventually closed in December 1979.[26] The official report on the escape concludes that the prisoners drowned in the cold waters of the bay while trying to reach the mainland, it being unlikely that they made the 1.25 miles (2.01 km) to shore due to the strong ocean currents and the cold sea water temperatures ranging between 50 and 55 °F (10 and 13 °C).[7][25] The U.S. Marshals Service case file remains open and active. Morris and the Anglin brothers remain on its wanted list.[27] Circumstantial evidence uncovered in the early-2010s seemed to suggest that the men had survived, and that contrary to the official FBI report of the escapee's raft never being recovered and no car thefts being reported, a raft was discovered on nearby Angel Island with footprints leading away, and a 1955 blue Chevrolet had been stolen on the night of the escape by three men, who could have been Morris and the Anglins, and that officials then engaged in a cover-up.[28] Relatives of the Anglin brothers presented further circumstantial evidence in the mid-2010s in support of a longstanding rumor that the Anglin brothers had fled to Brazil following the escape; a facial recognition analyst concluded that the one piece of physical evidence, a 1975 photograph of two men resembling John and Clarence Anglin, did support that conclusion.[29][30] Administration The admin offices of Alcatraz The prison initially had a staff of 155, including the first warden James A. Johnston and associate warden Cecil J. Shuttleworth, both considered to be "iron men."[12] None of the staff were trained in rehabilitation but were highly trained in security.[12] The guards' and staff's salaries varied. A new guard arriving in December 1948 was offered $3,024.96 per year, but there was a 6% deduction for retirement taxes a year (amounting to $181.50).[31] The guards typically worked 40-hour weeks with five 8-hour shifts.[31] Guards who worked between 6 pm and 6 am were given a 10% increase and guards doing overtime had to be reported and authorized by the warden.[31] Officers generally had to pay 25 cents for meals and were charged $10 to rent an apartment on the island, to include laundry service, although larger families were charged anything from $20–43 a month for larger quarters and charged additional for laundry.[31] In 1960, a Bureau of Prisons booklet revealed that the average prison population between 1935 and 1960 was 263; the highest recorded was 302 in 1937 and the lowest recorded was 222 in 1947.[32] A casefile of a prisoner from the Warden's notebook The main administration center was at the entrance to the prison, which included the warden's office. The office contained a desk with radio and telegraph equipment, typewriter, and a telephone.[33] The administrative office section also had the offices of the associate warden and secretary, mail desk, captain's desk, a business office, a clerk's office, an accounting office, a control room which was added with modern technology in 1961, the officer's lounge, armory and vault, and a visiting area and restrooms. The basement of Alcatraz prison contained dungeons and the showers. The main stairway to the dungeon lay along Sunrise Alley at the side of A-Block, but the dungeons were also accessible by a staircase in a trapdoor along the corridor of D-Block. All visits to Alcatraz required prior written approval from the warden.[34] A hospital had originally been installed at Alcatraz during its time as a military prison in the late 19th century.[35] During its time as a federal penitentiary, it was located above the dining hall on the second floor. Hospital staff were U.S. Public Health Service employees assigned to the Federal Prison Service at Alcatraz.[36] Doctors often lasted fewer than several days or months at Alcatraz, because few of them could tolerate the violent inmates who would often terrify them if they failed to be given certain drugs.[36] Prisoners in ill health were often kept in the hospital, most famously Stroud and Al Capone, who spent years in it.[37][38] Security Gun Gallery When the Bureau of Prisons established the Federal Penitentiary on January 1, 1934, they took measures to strengthen the security of the prison cells to make Alcatraz "escape-proof" and improve living conditions for their own staff. Up-to-date technologies for enhancing security and comfort were added to the buildings. Guard towers were built outside at four strategic locations, cells were rebuilt and fitted with "tool-proof steel cell fronts and locking devices operated from control boxes," and windows were made covered with iron grills. Electromagnetic metal detectors were placed at the entrances of the dining hall and workshops, with remote controlled tear gas canisters at appropriate locations and gun galleries with machine gun armed guards were installed to patrol along the corridors.[39] Improvements were made to the toilet and electricity facilities, old tunnels were sealed up with concrete to avoid hiding and escape by prisoners, and substantial changes and improvements were made to the housing facilities for guards, wardens, and captains to live with their families, with quality relative to rank. Warden Johnston, U.S. Attorney General Homer Cummings, and Sanford Bates, first director of the Bureau of Prisons, collaborated very closely to create "a legendary prison" suited to the times, which resulted in the Alcatraz Island Federal Penitentiary being nicknamed "Uncle Sam's Devil's Island."[39] Guards of Alcatraz Despite Alcatraz being designed to house the "worst of the worst" of criminals who caused problems at other prisons, under the guidelines and regulations set by the strict prison administrators, courts could not direct a prisoner to be directly sent to Alcatraz, however notorious they were for misbehavior and attempted escape from other prisons.[39] Prisoners entering Alcatraz would undergo vigorous research and assessments prior to their arrival. Security in the prison was very tight, with constant checking of bars, doors, locks, electrical fixtures, and other physical security.[40] Prisoners were normally counted 13 times daily, and the ratio of prisoners to guards was the lowest of any American prison of the time.[41][42] The front door was made of solid steel, virtually impossible for any prisoners to escape through.[43] The island had many guard towers, most of which have since been demolished, which were heavily guarded at various points in the day at times when security may have been breached. For instance, there were guard towers on each of the industry buildings to ensure that inmates didn't attempt to escape during the work day shifts.[13] The recreation yard and other parts of the prison had a 25-foot fence around it topped with barbed wire,[13] should any inmates attempt to escape during exercise. One former employee of the jail likened his prison job to being a zoo keeper or his old farm job, due to the fact that prisoners were treated like animals, sending them out to "plow the fields" when some of them worked during the day, and then counting them up and feeding them and so on.[40] He referred to those four years of his life working in the prison as a "total waste of his life."[40] The corridors were regularly patrolled by the guards, with passing gates along them. The most heavily trafficked corridor was "Broadway" between B and C Block, due to its being the central corridor of the prison and passed not only by guards but other prison workers.[44] At the end of each 20-minute meal in the dining hall, the forks, spoons and knives were laid out on the table and carefully counted to ensure that nothing had been taken as a potential weapon. In the earlier years as a prison, prisoners were forbidden from talking while eating, but this was later relaxed, provided that the prisoners communicated quietly.[40][45] The gun gallery was situated in the Recreation Yard and mounted on one of the dining hall's exterior walls.[46] There was a metal detector outside of the dining hall for security purposes. The dining hall had tear-gas canisters attached to the rafters of the ceiling which could be activated by remote control, should prisoners riot or attempt to escape.[47][14] The first warden, James A. Johnston, always entered the dining hall alone and unarmed, due to heavy guarding around him.[48] Several riots did break out in the dining hall during Alcatraz's history. Those prisoners who were not involved in the fighting hid under the dining hall tables to escape possible gunfire.[49] Wardens Image Name Term Summary James A. Johnston 1934–48 James Aloysius Johnston (1874–1954) (nickname "Old Saltwater") [50] was the first warden of Alcatraz. The former warden of Folsom and San Quentin, Johnston was instrumental to the creation of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary from conception to design. He was considered to be a highly strict disciplinarian and a devout reformist who imposed a number of rules upon the prison including a strict code of silence, which led to him being nicknamed the 'Golden Rule Warden' from his San Quentin days.[50] He was relatively popular among inmates and guards, known as "Old Saltwater" to the inmates, and is credited with challenging the barbaric tactics used in the prison when he was there, including strait jackets and solitary confinement in darkness and working towards the general improvement of the lives of prisoners. In 1937 he was attacked by Burton Phillips from behind in the dining hall who beat him in anger at a worker's strike, but he continued to attend meals unguarded. Edwin B. Swope 1948–55 Edwin Burnham Swope (1888–1955) (nickname "Cowboy") was the second warden of Alcatraz. His earlier posts as warden included New Mexico State Prison and Washington State's McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary. He was described as being approximately 1.73 meter (5 feet 9 inches) tall, of slender build, and was a fan of horse racing who dressed like a cowboy off-duty.[51] He was a strict disciplinarian but unlike his predecessor was considered the most unpopular warden of Alcatraz with his officers and the inmates.[52] Paul J. Madigan 1955–61 Paul Joseph Madigan (1897–1974) was the third warden of Alcatraz. He had earlier served as the last Associate Warden during the term of James A. Johnston. He was the only warden who had worked his way up from the bottom of the ranks of the prison staff hierarchy, having worked originally as a Correctional Officer on Alcatraz from the 1930s.[53][52] On May 21, 1941, Madigan was the key to quashing an escape attempt after being held hostage in the Model Industries Building, which later led to his promotion as associate warden.[54] He was a stout, ruddy-faced, pipe-smoking, devout Irish Catholic.[55] Unlike his predecessors, Madigan was known for being more lenient and softer in his approach to administering the prison and was better liked by the prison staff.[53] Olin G. Blackwell 1961–63 Olin Guy Blackwell (1915–1986) was the fourth and final warden of Alcatraz. Associate Warden to Paul J. Madigan from April 1959,[54] Blackwell served as warden of Alcatraz at its most difficult time from 1961 to 1963, when it was facing closure as a decaying prison with financing problems, coinciding with the timing of the infamous June 1962 escape from Alcatraz. At the time of the 1962 escape he was on vacation in Lake Berryessa in Napa County, and he did not believe the men could have survived the waters and made it to shore.[56] Blackwell was considered to have been the least strict warden of Alcatraz, perhaps in part due to him having been a heavy drinker and smoker, nicknamed "Gypsy" and known as "Blackie" to his friends.[54] He was said to have been an excellent marksman who had earlier served as Associate Warden of Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary. Prison life and the cells Side of cellhouse Chiseled cell air vent in Alcatraz Band practice in the dining hall in the 1950s An inmate register reveals that there were 1,576 prisoners in total held at Alcatraz during its time as a Federal Penitentiary, although figures reported have varied and some have stated 1,557.[57][58] The prison cells, purposefully designed so that none adjoined an outside wall,[14] typically measured 9 feet (2.7 m) by 5 ft (1.5 m) and 7 ft (2.1 m) high.[59] The cells were primitive with a bed, a desk and a washbasin and toilet on the back wall and few furnishings except a blanket.[59] An air vent, measuring 6 inches (150 mm) by 9 in (230 mm), covered by a metal grill, lay at the back of the cells which led into the utility corridors. [59] Prisoners had no privacy in going to the toilet and the toilets would emit a strong stench because they were flushed with salt water. Hot water taps were not installed until the early 1960s, shortly before closure.[59] The penitentiary established a very strict regimen of rules and regulations under the title "the Rules and Regulations for the Government and Discipline of the United States Penal and Correctional Institutions" and also a "Daily Routine of Work and Counts" to be followed by the prisoners and also the guards. Copies of these were provided to the prisoners to read and follow. Inmates were basically entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention. Anything else was seen as a privilege. Inmates were given a blue shirt, grey pants (blue and white in later years),[57] cotton long underwear, socks and a blue handkerchief; the wearing of caps was forbidden in the cellhouse.[59] Cells were expected to be kept tidy and in good order. Any dangerous article found in the cells or on inmates such as money, narcotics, intoxicating substances or tools which had the potential to inflict injury or assist in an escape attempt was considered contraband and made the prisoners eligible for disciplinary action.[57] It was compulsory for prisoners to shave in their cells three times a week. Attempting to bribe, intimidate, or assault prison officers was seen as a very serious offense.[57] African-Americans were segregated from the rest in cell designation due to racial abuse being prevalent.[60] Toilet paper, matches, soap, and cleanser were issued to the cells on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and inmates could request hot water and a mop to clean their cells.[57] The bars, windows and floors of the prison were cleaned on a daily basis.[60] In earlier years there was a strict code of silence but by the 1950s this had relaxed and talking was permitted in the cellhouse and dining hall provided conversations were quiet and there was no shouting, loud talking, whistling or singing.[57] Plan of the main cellhouse A page from the "Institution Rules and Regulations of the United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island" (1956) Prisoners would be woken at 6:30 am, and sent to breakfast at 6:55 am. After returning to the cell, inmates then had to tidy their cell and place the waste basket outside.[57] At 7:30 am, work started in the shifts for those privileged enough to do so, punctuated by a whistle, and prisoners would have to go through a metal detector during work shifts.[40] If assigned a job, prisoners had to accept that line of work; prisoners were not permitted to have money in their possessions but earnings went into a prisoner's Trust Fund.[57] Some of the prisoners were assigned duties with the guards and foremen in the Laundry, Tailor Shop, Cobblers Shop, Model Shop etc. and in gardening and labor. Smoking, a privilege, was permitted in the workplace providing that it would not be hazardous, but inmates were not permitted to smoke between the recreation yard and work. Lunch was served at 11:20 am, followed by a 30-minute rest in the cell, before returning to work until 16:15.[40] Dinner was served at 16:25 and the prisoners would then retire to their cells to be locked in for the night at 16:50. Lights went off at 21:30.[40][61] After being locked in for the night, 6 guards usually patrolled the four cell blocks.[60] Many prisoners have compared their duration at Alcatraz to hell and would have preferred death to continued incarceration.[62][better source needed] Alcatraz Library was located at the end of D-Block. Upon entering Alcatraz, every inmate was given a library card and a catalog of books found in the library. Inmates could place orders by putting a slip with their card in a box at the entrance to the dining hall before breakfast, and the books would be delivered to and from their cell by a librarian.[63][64][61] The library, which utilized a closed-stack paging system, had a collection of 10,000 to 15,000 books, mainly left over from the army days.[65][64][61] Inmates were permitted a maximum of three books in addition of up to twelve text books, a Bible, and a dictionary.[61] They were permitted to subscribe to magazines but crime-related pages were torn out and newspapers were prohibited.[64] Sex, crime and violence were censored from all books and magazines, and the library was governed by a chaplain who regulated the censorship and the nature of the reading material to ensure that the material was wholesome.[61][65] Failure to return books by the date given made the inmate liable to removal of privileges.[61] The average prisoner read 75 to 100 books a year.[66] Every evening, inmates would generally read books loaned from the library and usually an hour or 75 minutes was allocated to the practicing of musical instruments, from the guitar to the accordion. A prison band often practiced in the dining room or auditorium above it. Al Capone famously practiced the banjo in the shower block, although most prisoners were limited to playing in their cells alone.[67] Corridors "Broadway" Alcatraz cellhouse had a corridor naming system named after major American streets and landmarks. Michigan Avenue was the corridor to the side of A-Block. Broadway was the central corridor in which the inmates would assemble as they massed through Times Square (an area with a clock on the wall), before entering the dining hall for their meals. Broadway separated Block-B and Block-C and prisoners kept along it had the least privacy in the prison.[68] The corridor between Block-C and the library was called Park Avenue.[68] The corridor in D-Block was named Sunset Strip. Gun galleries lay at the end of each block, including the West and East Gun Galleries.[5]: 76  A-Block A-Block was never modernized, so retained its "flat strap-iron bars, key locks and spiral staircases" from the original military prison.[69] No inmates were permanently held there during the years Alcatraz was a federal penitentiary. Several inmates, however, were held briefly in A-Block before a hearing or transfer.[69] In the later years, A-Block was mainly used for storage. A law library was set up at some point, where inmates could type legal documents.[69] A small barber's shop was located at the end of A-block where inmates would have a monthly haircut.[69] B-Block Most new inmates at Alcatraz were assigned to the second tier of B-Block.[70] They had "quarantine status" for their first three months in confinement in Alcatraz, and were not permitted visitors for a minimum of 90 days.[70][71] Inmates were permitted one visitor a month, although anybody likely to cause trouble such as registered criminals were barred from visiting. Letters received by inmates were checked by prison staff first, to see if they could decipher any secret messages.[11][72] Frank Morris and his fellow escapees escaped Alcatraz during the June 1962 escape from Alcatraz by entering a utility corridor behind B-Block.[5]: 120  C-Block D-Block An exterior view looking towards the end of D-Block, the dining hall and kitchen are on the left D-Block gained notoriety as a "Treatment block" for some of the worst inmates, with varying degrees of punishment, including Isolation, Solitary and Strip.[73] Prisoners usually spent anywhere from 3 to 19 days in Solitary.[73] Prisoners held here would be given their meals in their cells, were not permitted to work and could only shower twice a week. After a 1939 escape attempt in which Arthur "Doc" Barker was killed, the Bureau of Prisons tightened security in the D-Block. The Birdman of Alcatraz inhabited cell 42 in D-Block in solitary confinement for 6 years. D-Block The worst cells for confinement as a punishment for inmates who stepped out of line were located at the end of D-Block in cells 9–14, known as "The Hole".[74] Inmates held in the hole were limited to just one 10-minute shower and an hour of exercise in the yard a week.[75][73] The five cells of "The Hole" had nothing but a sink and toilet; the very worst cell was the final cell, nicknamed "The Oriental" or "Strip Cell", which contained nothing but a hole in the floor as a toilet, and in which prisoners would often be confined naked with nothing else for two days.[68][73] The guards controlled the flushing of the toilet in the final cell.[9] After completing the punishment in the Hole, the prisoner could then return to his cell but would be tagged. A red tag, third grade, denoted a prisoner who was restricted from leaving his cell for perhaps 3 months.[40] At second grade the prisoners could receive letters, and if after 30 days they remained well-behaved, they would then be restored full prison privileges.[40] Its size was approximately that of a regular cell-9 feet by 5 feet by about 7 feet high. I could just touch the ceiling by stretching out my arm [...] You are stripped nude and pushed into the cell. Guards take your clothes and go over them minutely for what few grains of tobacco may have fallen into the cuffs or pockets. There is no soap. No tobacco. No toothbrush, The smell – well you can describe it only by the word 'stink.' It is like stepping into a sewer. It is nauseating. After they have searched your clothing, they throw it at you. For bedding, you get two blankets, around 5 in the evening. You have no shoes, no bed, no mattress-nothing but the four damp walls and two blankets. The walls are painted black. Once a day I got three slices of bread—no—that is an error. Some days I got four slices. I got one meal in five days, and nothing but bread in between. In the entire thirteen days I was there, I got two meals [...] I have seen but one man get a bath in solitary confinement, in all the time that I have been there. That man had a bucket of cold water thrown over him. — Henri Young testifying his experiences in "The Hole" at Alcatraz during his 1941 trial.[76] Dining Main article: Alcatraz Dining Hall Inmates in the dining hall Alcatraz Dining Hall, often referred to as the Mess Hall, is the dining hall where the prisoners and staff ate their meals. It is a long wing on the west end of the Main Cellhouse of Alcatraz, situated in the center of the island.[77] It is connected to the block by a corridor known as "Times Square", as it passes beneath a large clock approaching the entrance way to the dining hall.[5]: 93  This wing includes the dining hall and the kitchen beyond it. On the second floor was the hospital and the auditorium, which was where movies were screened to the inmates on weekends.[78] Dining hall protocol was a scripted process, including a whistle system to indicate which block and tier of men would move into and out of the hall at any given time, who sat where, where to place hands, and when to start eating.[79] Prisoners would be awakened at 6:30 am, and sent to breakfast at 6:55 am.[40] A breakfast menu is still preserved on the hallway board, dated March 21, 1963. The breakfast menu included assorted dry cereals, steamed whole wheat, a scrambled egg, milk, stewed fruit, toast, bread, and butter. Lunch was served in the dining hall at 11:20 am, followed by a 30-minute rest in the cell, before returning to work until 16:15.[40] Dinner was served at 16:25 and the prisoners would then go to their cells at 16:50 to be locked in for the night.[40] Inmates were permitted to eat as much as they liked within 20 minutes, provided they left no waste. Waste would be reported and may make the prisoner subject to removal of privileges if they made a habit of it.[80][41] Each dining table had benches which held up to six men, although smaller tables and chairs later replaced these which seated four.[45] All of the prison population, including the guards and officials would dine together, thus seating over 250 people.[45][81] The food served at Alcatraz was reportedly the best in the United States prison system.[80] Recreation Main article: Recreation Yard (Alcatraz) Recreation Yard The Recreation Yard was the yard used by inmates of the prison between 1934 and 1963. It is located opposite the dining hall south of the end of D-Block, facing the mainland on a raised level surrounded by a high wall and fence above it.[82][83][84] Guard Tower #3 lay just to the west of the yard.[85] The gun gallery was situated in the yard, mounted on one of the dining hall's exterior walls.[46] In 1936, the previously dirt-covered yard was paved.[86] The yard was part of the most violent escape attempt from Alcatraz in May 1946 when a group of inmates hatched a plot to obtain the key into the recreation yard, kill the tower guards, take hostages, and use them as shields to reach the dock.[87] Inmates were permitted out into the yard on Saturdays and Sundays and on holidays for a maximum of 5 hours.[88][89] Inmates who worked seven days a week in the kitchen were rewarded with short yard breaks during the weekdays.[89] Badly behaved prisoners were liable to having their yard access rights taken away from them on weekends.[89] The prisoners of Alcatraz were permitted to play games such as baseball, softball and other sports at these times and intellectual games such as chess.[88] Because of the small size of the yard and the diamond at the end of it, a section of the wall behind the first base had to be padded to cushion the impact of inmates overrunning it.[90] Inmates were provided gloves, bats, and balls, but no sport uniforms. In 1938, there were four amateur teams, the Bees, Oaks, Oilers, and Seals, named after Minor League clubs, and four league teams named after Major League clubs, the Cardinals, Cubs, Giants, and Tigers.[91] Many of the inmates used weekends in the yards to converse with each other and discuss crime, the only real opportunities they had during the week for a durable conversation.[92] Other buildings Warden's House Main article: Warden's House (Alcatraz Island) The Warden's House and lighthouse The Warden's House is located at the northeastern end of the Main Cellblock, next to Alcatraz Lighthouse. The 3-floor 15-room mansion was built in 1921 according to the Golden Gate National Recreational Area signpost,[93] although some sources say it was built in 1926 or 1929 and had 17 or 18 rooms.[94] Between 1934 and 1963, the four wardens of Alcatraz resided here, including the first warden, James A. Johnston. A house of luxury, in stark contrast to the jail next to it, the wardens often held lavish cocktail parties here.[95] The signpost at the spot shows a photograph of a trusted inmate doing chores at the house for the warden and that the house had a terraced garden and greenhouse.[93] The mansion had tall windows, providing fine views of San Francisco Bay.[94] Today, the house is a ruin, burned down by Native Americans during the Occupation of Alcatraz on June 1, 1970.[94] Building 64 Main article: Building 64 Building 64 Residential Apartments was the first building constructed on the island of Alcatraz, intended entirely for the purpose of accommodating the military officers and their families living on the island.[96] Located next to the dock on the southeastern side of the island, below the Warden's House,[97] the three-story apartment block was built in 1905 on the site of a U.S. Army barracks which had been there from the 1860s. It functioned as the Military Guard Barracks from 1906 until 1933. One of its largest apartments in the southwest corner was known as the "Cow Palace" and a nearby alleyway was known as "Chinatown".[96] Social Hall Main article: Social Hall (Alcatraz) The ruined Social Hall of Alcatraz The Social Hall, also known as the Officers' Club, was a social club located on the northwestern side of the island. Located in proximity to the Power House, water tower and Former Military Chapel (Bachelor Quarters), it formerly housed the post exchange.[98] The club was a social venue for the Federal Penitentiary workers and their families on the island to unwind after locking Alcatraz's criminals up at 17:30.[99][100] It was burned down by Native Americans during the Occupation of Alcatraz in 1970, leaving a shell which still remains. The club had a small bar, library, large dining and dance floor, billiards table, ping pong table and a two-lane bowling alley, and was the centre of social life on the island for the employees of the penitentiary.[101][102][103] It regularly hosted dinners, bingo events, and from the 1940s onwards showed movies every Sunday night after they had been shown to the inmates during the day on Saturday and Sunday.[101][5]: 128  The club was responsible for organizing numerous special events on the island (held either in the hall or the Parade Grounds) and the fundraising associated with it, anything from ice cream and watermelon feasts to Halloween fancy dress and Christmas parties.[101][104] Power House Main article: Power House (Alcatraz) The Power House is located on the northwest coast of Alcatraz Island. It was constructed in 1939 for $186,000 as part of a $1.1 million modernization scheme which also included the water tower, New Industries Building, officers quarters and remodeling of the D-block.[70] The white powerhouse smokestack and lighthouse were said to give an "appearance of a ship's mast on either side of the island".[105] A sign reading "A Warning. Keep Off. Only Government permitted within 200 yards" lay in front of the powerhouse to deter people landing on the island at the point. Between 1939 and 1963, it supplied power to the Federal Penitentiary and other buildings on the island. The powerhouse had a tower duty station which was guarded with a "30-caliber Winchester rifle with 50 rounds of ammunition, a 1911 semiautomatic pistol with three seven-round magazines, three gas grenades, and a gas mask".[106] Alcatraz water tower Main article: Alcatraz water tower The water tower in 2008, visibly rusting. The water tower is located on the northwestern side of the island, near Tower No. 3, beyond the Morgue and Recreation Yard.[107] The water tank is situated on six cross-braced steel legs submerged in concrete foundations.[dubious – discuss][108] As Alcatraz had no water supply of its own, it had to import it from the mainland, brought by tug and barge.[109] During the island's military years, there were in-ground water tanks and water tanks were situated on the roof of the citadel.[110] The water tower was built in 1940–41 by the Federal Bureau of Prisons,[111] after the island received a government renovations grant to supply the majority of the island's fresh water.[110][dubious – discuss] It is the tallest building on the island, at a height of 94 feet (29 m) with a volume of 250,000 US gallons (950 kL) gallons of fresh water. It was used to store potable water for drinking, water for firefighting, and water for the island's service laundry facility.[108][112] Model Industries Building Main article: Model Industries Building The Model Industries Building is a three/four-story building on the northwest corner of Alcatraz Island. This building was originally built by the U.S. military and was used as a laundry building until the New Industries Building was built as part of a redevelopment program on Alcatraz in 1939 when it was a federal penitentiary. As part of the Alcatraz jail, it held workshops for inmates to work in.[113] Inmates working in the sewing room On January 10, 1935, the building shifted to within 2.5 feet from the edge of the cliff following a landslide caused by a severe storm. The warden at the time, James A. Johnston, proposed extend the seawall next to it and asked the bureau for $6500 to fund it. He would later claim to dislike the building because it was irregularly shaped.[70] A smaller, cheaper riprap was completed by the end of 1935.[70] A guard tower and a catwalk from Hill Tower was added to the roof of the Industries Building in June 1936 and the building was made secure with bars from old cells to bar the windows and grill the roof ventilators and to prevent inmates from escaping from the roof.[70] It ceased use as a laundry in 1939 when it was moved to the upper floor of the New Industries Building. Today the building is heavily rusted after decades of exposure to the salt air and wind, and neither the guard tower on top of the building nor the Hill Tower still exist. New Industries Building Main article: New Industries Building A boat bypassing the watchtower at Alcatraz Island (June 2016). The New Industries Building was constructed in 1939 for $186,000 as part of a $1.1 million modernization scheme which also included the water tower, power house, officers' quarters and remodeling of the D-block.[9] The ground floor of the two-story 306 ft long building contained a clothing factory, dry cleaning plant, furniture plant, brush factory, and an office, where prisoners of the federal penitentiary could work for money.[9] They earned a small wage for their labour which was put into an account, known as a Prisoner's Trust Fund, which would be given to them upon leaving Alcatraz.[114] They made items such as gloves, furniture mats, and army uniforms.[113] The laundry room occupied the entire upper floor, the largest in San Francisco at the time.[9][113] Each window has 9 panes and there are 17 bays on each floor on either side. Notable inmates Main article: List of inmates of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary Image Inmate Number/Term Summary Arthur R. Barker ("Doc") #268 1935–39 Arthur Barker (June 4, 1899 – January 13, 1939) was the son of Ma Barker and a member of the Barker-Karpis gang along with Alvin Karpis. In 1935, Barker was sent to Alcatraz Island on conspiracy to kidnap charges. On the night of January 13, 1939, Barker with Henri Young and Rufus McCain attempted escape from Alcatraz. Barker was shot and killed by the guards.[115] Alphonse "Al" Gabriel Capone ("Scarface") #85 1934–39 When Al Capone (January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947) arrived on Alcatraz in 1934, prison officials made it clear that he would not be receiving any preferential treatment. While serving his time in Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Capone, a master manipulator, had continued running his rackets from behind bars by buying off guards.[39] Capone generated major media attention while on Alcatraz, though he served just four and a half years of his sentence there[39] before developing symptoms of tertiary syphilis and poor mental health before being transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution at Terminal Island in Los Angeles in 1938. He tried his best to seek favors from warden Johnston, but failed, and was given work in the prison performing numerous menial jobs. Capone was involved in many fights with fellow prisoners, including one with an inmate who held a blade to his throat in the prison barbershop after Capone attempted to cut the line. He was released from jail in November 1939 and lived in Miami until his death in 1947 at 48 years of age.[39][116] Meyer Harris Cohen ("Mickey") #1518 1961–63 Mickey Cohen (September 4, 1913 – July 29, 1976) worked for the Mafia's gambling rackets; he was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 15 years in Alcatraz Island.[117] He was transferred to the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta shortly before Alcatraz closed permanently on March 21, 1963. While at Atlanta, on August 14, 1963, fellow inmate Burl Estes McDonald clobbered[118] Cohen with a lead pipe, partially paralyzing the mobster. After his release in 1972, Cohen led a quiet life with old friends.[119] Ellsworth Raymond Johnson ("Bumpy") #1117 1954–63 "Bumpy" Johnson (October 31, 1905 – July 7, 1968), referred to as the "Godfather of Harlem", was an African-American gangster, numbers operator, racketeer, and bootlegger in Harlem in the early 20th century. He was sent to Alcatraz in 1954 and was imprisoned until 1963. He was believed to have been involved in the 1962 escape attempt of Frank Morris, John and Clarence Anglin.[120] Alvin Francis Karpavicz ("Creepy Karpis") #325 1936–62 Alvin Karpis (August 10, 1907 – August 26, 1979) was Canadian, of Lithuanian descent. He was nicknamed "Creepy" for his sinister smile and called "Ray" by his gang members. He was known for being one of the three leaders of the Ma Barker-Karpis gang in the 1930s; the other two leaders were Fred and Doc Barker of the Ma Barker Gang. He was the only "Public Enemy #1" to be taken personally by J. Edgar Hoover. There were only four "public enemies" ever given the title of "Public Enemy #1" by the FBI. The other three, John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Baby Face Nelson, were all killed before being captured.[121] He also spent the longest time as a federal prisoner in Alcatraz Prison at 26 years. Karpis was credited with ten murders and six kidnappings apart from bank robbery. He was deported to Canada in 1969 and died in Spain in 1979.[116][122][123] George Kelly Barnes ("Machine Gun Kelly") #117 1934–51 "Machine Gun Kelly" (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954) arrived on September 4, 1934. At Alcatraz, Kelly was constantly boasting about several robberies and murders that he had never committed.[124] Although his boasts were said to be tiresome to other prisoners, Warden Johnson considered him a model inmate. Inmate #139, Harvey Bailey was his partner. Kelly was returned to Leavenworth in 1951. Rafael Cancel Miranda #1163 1954–60 In July 1954, Rafael Cancel Miranda (July 18, 1930 – March 2, 2020) was sent to Alcatraz, where he served six years of his sentence. At Alcatraz he was a model prisoner,[125] where he worked in the brush factory and served as an altar boy at Catholic services. His closest friends were fellow Puerto Ricans Emerito Vasquez and Hiram Crespo-Crespo. They spoke Spanish and watched out for each other. On the recreation yard he often played chess with "Bumpy" Johnson.[125] He also befriended Morton Sobell; they developed a friendship that lasted up until Sobell's death in 2018.[125] His family made trips to San Francisco to visit him, but he wasn't allowed to see his children. His wife was allowed to talk to him through a glass in the visiting room, using a phone. They were not allowed to speak in Spanish and had to speak in English.[126] He was transferred to Leavenworth in 1960. Robert Franklin Stroud ("Birdman of Alcatraz") #594 1942–59 Robert Stroud, who was better known to the public as the Birdman of Alcatraz (January 28, 1890 – November 21, 1963), was transferred to Alcatraz in 1942. At a young age he took to pimping and was involved in a murder during a drunken brawl. After terms in McNeil Island and Leavenworth Federal Prison, where he had killed Officer Andrew Turner, he was transferred to Alcatraz, with his sentence extended. A self-taught ornithologist, he wrote several books. His Digest on the Diseases of Birds is considered a classic in ornithology. He was confined to D-Block in solitary confinement for most of his duration in Alcatraz.[127] and after a term in the prison hospital, was transferred to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, due to seriously detioriating health.[7] Although he was given the name "The Birdman of Alcatraz", he was not permitted to keep birds in his prison cell at Alcatraz, as he had at Leavenworth, because it was prohibited. He died in 1963.[7][25][128][129] Legends Native Americans, known as Ohlone (A Miwok word), were the earliest known inhabitants of Alcatraz island. In Miwok mythology, evil spirits were said to inhabit the island.[130][131] In popular culture, Alcatraz has been listed as among the top 5 allegedly "haunted" spots in California.[132] In popular culture Further information: Alcatraz Island in popular culture See also Despite later tales that the island was honeycombed with Spanish tunnels and dungeons, it attracted very little attention and settlers before the Mexican War. Nor was there much about it that was attractive. Alcatraz jutted out of the bay, a barren irregularly shaped rock that was devoid of flowing water as well as vegetation. An American army officer described it as being "entirely without resources within itself and the soil is scarcely perceptible being rocky and precipitous on all sides. ,,1 Its first surveyor wrote: "This Island is chiefly composed of irregulady stratified sandstone covered with a thin coating of guano. The stone is full of seams in all directions which render it unfit for any building purposes & probably difficult to quarry." He added: "The island has no beach & but two or three points where small 1. [U. S. Army Outline [of] Military Posts in the Military Division of the Pacific, 187 (n. p , p. - - 1 boats can land." His survey showed that the island was I, 705 feet long and that its maximum width came to 580 feet. Its long axis lay in a northwest-southeast direction. When viewed in profile it had two "peaks" that reached elevations above sea level of 134.9 and 138.4 feet. The guano probably gave cause for the name White Island that was occasionally applied to it. The Rock measured 2 about 22 acres. C. Alcatraz Gets a Name: Explorers Because of its location in the midst of the swift currents of the bay, Alcatraz (where one could get close to the water) provided an excellent platform from which to harvest the great schools of fish that passed beneath its slopes. But if Indians made use of the island as a fishing station, they left no evidence of their visits. Not until the third quarter of the 18th century did Alcatraz enter into history.3 Sgt. JoseI Francisco Ortega, chief scout for Gaspar de Portola's expedition, may have seen Alcatraz Island when he stumbled upon the Golden Gate in 1769. Three years later, two Spanish gentlemen most certainly did. capt. Pedro Fages and Father Juan Crespi, exploring the area where Berkeley now stands, 2. Washington, D.C., National Archives, Cartographic Archives Division, Record Group 77, Office of the Chief of Engineers (hereinafter cited as OCE), Fortifications File, Drawer 95-107, Lt. W. H. Warner, "Field Map of 'Isla de los Alcatrazes' San Francisco Harbor . . . May 1847." (Hereinafter, National Archives is NA; Record Group is RG. Historic maps used in this study are not shown individually in the Bibliography; rather they are listed in an appendix. ) 3. The writer is aware that some students believe that Francis Drake discovered San Francisco Bay in 1579. A summation of the various Drake theories will be presented in a later study of Golden Gate National Recreation Area (hereinafter cited as GGNRA). 2 looked westward toward the Golden Gate and noted the principal islands within their view. Fages wrote in his journal: "Within the estuary we saw five islands, three of them making a triangle opposite the mouth, with a large distance between them; and the nearest of them to the channel at the mouth [Alcatraz] must have been over a league from it. The largest of the three [Angel], which must have been some three leagues in circuit, was very grassy and with considerable trees on it; the other two [Alcatraz and Yerba Buena] were smaller and also displayed considerable greenery. ,,4 The first European to visit the island mayor may not have been Frigate-Lt. don Juan Manuel de Ayala, who sailed the first ship into San Francisco Bay in August 1775. On August 12 he setout in a small boat from his temporary anchorage at Tiburon for nearby Angel Island, which he named Isla de los Angeles. Although he found good moorings there, he decided to inspect further before deciding on a harbor: "I rather preferred to pass onward in search of another island, which when I reached it proved so arid and steep there was not even a boat-harbor there; I named the island de los Alcatrazes [Island of the Pelicans] because of their being plentiful there. ,,5 4. Frank M. Stanger and Alan K. Brown, Who Discovered the Golden Gate? The Explorers' Own Accounts, How il reaa hidden and at last ururits entrance n ateo Historica1 Association, description was briefer; he too identified the location of Alcatraz. There is no accounting for Fages' observing greenery on Alcatraz. Perhaps the distance made the guano appear to be what it was not. 5. Ibid., p. 151. Ayala's chart spelled the name "Alcatraces." The officers of the U. S. Army had a difficult time with this Spanish name. From their reports the following variations have been culled: Alcatrazes, Alcatras, Alcatrasas, Alcatrace, Alcatrose, Alcatrazas, Alcatrazos, and Alcatrases. The last of these was the most common spelling in the 1850s. By 1866 the army had settled on today's spelling, but the Coast Survey had settled on today's version as early as 1851. One could readily assume that Ayala had reached today's Alcatraz. However, the chart resulting from this first survey of the bay clearly labeled today's Yerba Buena Island as de los Alcatraces. Some scholars, such as Stanger and Brown, believe that the chart was inaccurate and that the name was applied to the wrong island by an unskilled hand, and that Ayala's "arid and steep" island was indeed today's Alcatraz. Others assume that the chart is correct, that Ayala did visit Yerba Buena, and that the name was later accidentally changed. 6 Stanger and Brown believe that Ayala's phrase could only have applied to today's Alcatraz and not to the more bountiful Yerba Buena. Supporting this conclusion, on the one hand, is the army's experiences on Yerba Buena around 1870, when it had a full-fledged post on the island capable of supporting 150 men. A spring and a well supplied a limited but adequate amount of water. And the post boasted a 5-acre garden. Photographs taken at the time show a heavy natural growth of grasses, bushes, and large shrubs. On the other hand, Ayala's own pilot, Jose de Canezares, described today's Yerba Buena as "rough, steep and with no 7 shelter. ,, A Mexican map of the Bay Area dated 1825 continued to identify Yerba Buena as Alcatraz, with no identification of the 6. Ibid., pp. 56 and 57; also see Erwin G. Gudde, California Place The Origin .and of Current Names (Berkeley: UniversIty of 1962), pp. and 351. 7. Stanger and Brown, p. 159; [U. S. Army], Quartermaster General, Outline Descriptions of Forts and Stations, 1871 (Washington, 1872) , p. 31; NA, Archives 2 photos, Engineer Company on Yerba Buena Island, n.d. (but between 1868 and 1874, No. 77F-98-16, A and B. 4 latter island at all. But in the next year, Capt. Frederick Beechey, British Navy, secured permission from Mexican authorities to survey the bay. For whatever reasons, he gave each island its present name and thus they have been known ever since. 8 D. Fremont's Claim During the last years of the Mexican regime, a number of citizens, native and naturalized I of the Republic applied for grants of land around San Francisco Bay at locations that within a short time would be demanded by the United States for use as military reservations for the defense of the harbor. While some of the original grantees had intentions of developing these lands, others were purely speculators and, after the conquest of California, undoubtedly had high hopes that the United States would be forced to pay well to obtain possession of them. Ownership disputes would soon plague all the early military reservations: Presidio, Point San Jose (Fort Mason), Lime Point, Angel Island, and Alcatraz. Early in 1849 the U. S. Congress appropriated funds for a joint commission of army and navy officers to examine the Pacific Coast with reference to its defense. Maj. John Lind Smith, senior officer of the commission, wrote from San Francisco concerning Mexican titles. He understood that the only titles that existed in California were those derived from Mexican grants and from uninterrupted occupancy for the length of time prescribed by the laws of Mexico. He had also learned that "all valid Mexican grants contain a reservation that they may be resumed by the Govt. --when 8. NA, Cartographic Div., RG 77, Fortifications File, Dr. 124-1, "Plano del Puerto de San Francisco . . . 1825" ; Stanger and Brown, pp. 62-63. 5 needed for public purposes; and that any grant without the reservation is not valid because there is a law of Mexico expressly requiring it to be inserted." Smith confidently concluded that the United States could take possession of any land in California that might be required for public use. Alcatraz Island would not test Smith's thesis as much as Lime Point or Point San Jose would in the years ahead; nonetheless the story of its claimants is a curious 9 one. The Spanish colonial government had, in fact, retained control of all coastal islands. But on July 20, 1838, the Mexican government, fearful that foreigners might occupy some of these islands, passed a law that authorized the governor of California to certified. The prefect, J. Jesus Noe, at Monterey, did his duty but was puzzled as to why Workman wanted the "completely bare" island. Another Monterey official pointed out that the only possible use Alcatraz could have would be the location of "some kind of lamp which may provide some light in the dark and stormy nights for the protection of ships that pass by." On June 8, 1846, as the sun was setting on Mexico's ownership of Alta California, Governor Pico granted Workman the small island, with the one condition that he establish a navigation light "as soon as possible." Workman did not erect a light on Alcatraz; almost immediately he conveyed the title 9. NA, RG 77, Office of Chief of Engineers, OCE, Letters Received 1838-1866, Maj. J. L. Smith, Mar. 31, 1850, to Secretaries of War and Navy. 10. Denver, National Park Service, Denver Service Center (hereinafter cited as NPS, DSC), John A. Hussey, "Fort McDowell, Angel Island, Marin and San FranCisco Counties, California . . . ," Manuscript prepared for War Assets Administration, 1949, p. 16. 6 to his son-in-law, Francis P. Temple, another naturalized Mexican. 11 In 1847, John Charles Fremont, appointed governor of California by Commodore Stockton, "purchased" Alcatraz Island from Francis Temple, "giving a bond for the purchase money in my official capacity as governor of California." Fremont said he regarded the island "as the best position for Lighthouse and Fortifications in the bay of San Francisco. i, Later in Washington, D. C. , Fremont was court-martialed on a number of charges and specifications, among them being this purchase in the name of the United States. The United States rejected the "purchase" on the grounds that Fremont had not possessed the authority to make it. Furthermore, President Fillmore's 1850 order reserving Alcatraz and other parcels of land from sale was a clear indication that the federal government considered itself the rightful owner and purchase from anyone unnecessary . The army's Board of Engineers for the Pacific Coast confirmed that belief in 1851 when it wrote that while it had no specific information concerning Temple and Fremont, it was under the impression "that our Government had succeeded to the right of property in that and other Islands . . . which had been vested in the Mexican Government. ,,12 11. San Francisco Examiner, Jan. 5, 1896; NA, RG 77, aCE, Land John C. Fremont, Washington, D.C., May 10, 1855, to General [Caleb) Cushing. Governor Micheltorena had apparently granted Alcatraz to Jose Yves Limantour in 1843, but a court had proclaimed this illegal. 12. NA, RG 77, aCE, Letters Received 1838-1866, Col. J. S. Smith, Nov. 3, 1851, to Col. Joseph Totten, Chief Engr.; NA, RG 77, aCE, Fremont, May 10, 1855, to Cushing; Theodore Grivas, Military Governments in California, 1846-1850 (Glendale: Arthur H. Clark Company, 98. 7 The army proceeded to develop plans for the defense of Alcatraz. But Fremont was not at all convinced that his claim was dead. He decided that if he had not purchased Alcatraz for the government, then he had bought it for himself: "The island consequently reverted to me, and has ever since been held by me to be my property." Eventually, through Simon Stevens of New York, Fremont paid $5,000 to the holder of the bond. From the 1850s on, Temple's name dropped from the records. Not so, Fremont's. By early 1855 the San Francisco law firm of Palmer, Cook, and Company, which seemed to specialize in land litigations that involved the federal government, entered the case either on behalf of Fremont, or in partnership with him. They brought an action of ejectment in the District Court, Fourth Judicial District, San Francisco. The engineer in charge of the works on Alcatraz, Maj. Zealous Bates Tower, notified Chief Engineer Joseph Totten that "Messers Palmer Cook & Co. have commenced suit against me personally for trespass in occupying Alcatraz." The secretary of war quickly authorized Tower to call upon the U. S. district attorney for any assistance he needed. 13 At the same time Palmer went into court, Fremont wrote U. S. Attorney General Caleb Cushing outlining the case as he saw it, concluding: "I thought it not improbable that the government upon a full examination might be disposed to make some arrangement which would spare us the great expense and delay of litigation." 13. NA, RG 77, · aCE, Land Claims, Maj. Z. B. Tower, Jan. 31, 1855, to Totten; NA, RG 77, aCE, Letters to Officers of Engineers, vol. 23, 1st Lt. J. D. Kurtz, May 18, 1855, to Tower. At that time the firm Palmer, Cook and Company was composed of Joseph C. Palmer, Charles W. Cook, George W. Wright, and Edward Jones. See NA, RG 77, aCE, Land Papers; Mary Lee Spence and Donald Jackson, editors, The Expeditions of John Charles Fremont, vol. 2: The Bear Flag and the (Urbana: University of Press, 1973). footnote 317n. 8 But the government was not so disposed. The construction of fortifications on Alcatraz went on. Fremont's claim came up again in 1859 when D. W. Perley, said to have been the "Pathfinder's" attorney at that time, threatened to institute a suit for the possession of the island. Sec. Lt. James B. McPherson, then in charge of Alcatraz, informed Washington that according to his intelligence Perley was threatening this action because he had lost $30,000 when the federal government declined to pay $200,000 for the purchase of Lime Point on the north side of the Golden Gate. As before, the subject quickly dropped from army correspondence, indicating that nothing much came from the affair .14 As late as the 1890s attorneys for the heirs of General Fremont, probably in association with another land dispute at Point San (Fort Mason), placed on record a deed dated August 3, 1883, from Fremont to Charles A. Lamont of New York, stating that for the sum of one dollar and other valuable considerations Fremont sold one-half of all his rights to Alcatraz Island. The newspapers guessed that the old claim was to be renewed before Congress or the Court of Claims. But the heirs seem to have dropped their interest in Alcatraz about this time. They would, however, continue the battle over Point San Alcatraz has remained firmly in the hands of the federal government from its first occupation by the army engineers until today. 15 14. NA, RG 77, aCE, Land Papers, Fremont, May 10, 1855, to Cushing, and 2Lt. J. B. McPherson, July 14, 1859, to Capt. G. A. De Russy; NA, RG 77, aCE, Letters to Officers of Engineers, vol. 30, De RUssy, Aug. 12, 1859, to McPherson. 15. Bulletin, San Francisco, May 28, 1892; San Francisco Call, May 2 , 1892. 9 u y , II. The First Fortifications, 1853-1863 A. A Natural Redoubt: Planning the Works 1. First Survey First Lt. William Horace Warner, Corps of Topographical Engineers, surveyed Alcatraz Island in May 1847. Not only was this the first detailed examination of the island, it was one of the very first land surveys carried out on the Pacific Coast by the newly established Tenth Military Department, headquartered at Monterey and still under the command of Brig. Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny. While the army had not yet developed plans for the permanent defenses of San Francisco Bay, Warner's map, with minor corrections, became the basis for future planning over the next 20-odd years. The department's desire to have the island surveyed at this early date indicated the realization that Alcatraz would play an important role in an, as yet, undeveloped scheme of defense. 1 2. Joint Board of Engineers and Naval Officers Two years passed before the V. S. Congress appropriated funds for an examination of the Pacific Coast "in reference to the defence of the Same. It The resultant Joint Board of Engineers and Naval Officers (Pacific Coast) consisted of three army 1. [V.S. Army], Military Posts 1879, p. 1. The Tenth Military Department was created per No. 49, War Department, Adjutant General's Office, Nov. 3, 1846. It was actually established in Monterey in February 1847. William Horace Warner entered West Point in 1831. He graduated tenth in his After two years as an artillery officer, he joined the Topographical Engineers in 1838. Promoted to first lieutenant in 1841, he received a brevet captaincy for gallant and meritorious service in California on Dec. 6, 1846. His military career suddenly ended Sept. 26, 1849, when he was killed by Indians in the Sierra Nevada. See Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and of the United States from 1789 to . . . 1903, (190 ; ed., Urbana: versityDnlIfuois Press, 1965), 1:1003. 10 engineers: Maj. John L. Smith, Maj. Cornelius A. Ogden, and 1st Lt. Danville Leadbetter; and three naval officers: Comdr. Lewis M.2- - - Goldsborough, Comdr. G. J. Van Brunt, and Lt. Simon F. Blunt. These officers assembled at San Francisco in early April 1849. Their surveys of the Bay Area, the Columbia River, and San Diego over the next several months were greatly hindered by wholesale desertions . of naval seamen who were intent on reaching the gold mines. In desperation, the commission sailed to Hawaii in November to hire an adequate ship's crew from the king. At least, this was a good excuse to visit Honolulu in the winter. They returned to San Francisco in March 1850. At the end of March, the comnusslOn prepared its major · recommendations concerning lands to be reserved for public use. On the south side of the Golden Gate they proposed one reservation that included all of today's Fort Winfield Scott, the Presidio of San Francisco, and Fort Mason (and the area between the latter two). The recommendation for the north side of the Golden Gate approximated what would later become the Lime Point Military Reservation (Forts Baker and Barry) . The commission further proposed a reservation on the eastern side of Mare Island Straits. Finally, they included the three major islands in San Francisco Bay: Yerba Buena, Angel, and Alcatraz. Almost as an afterthought, they provided for a temporary battery at "Racoon" 2. NA, RG 77, aCE, Letters Received 1838-1866, Instructions of Secretaries of War and Navy to Joint Board of Engineers & Naval Officers (Pacific Coast). Blunt had been in San Francisco Bay before as a member of the Wilkes Expedition. Point Blunt on Angel Island was named in his honor. See William Stanton, The Great United States Exploring of 1838-1842 sity of California Press, 19 5). 11 Point, opposite Angel Island, today's Peninsula Point. In its final report, dated November 1, 1850, the commission reiterated the above recommendations, saying: The first consideration in connection with defense would be to prevent the passage of hostile vessels through the channel of entrance [Golden Gate]. This would be difficult as the narrowest part of the entrance is about a mile wide and vessels might pass through with the speed of 10 or 12 knots if favored by a strong fair wind, not unusual there, and the flood tide, estimated at 3 knots. The difficulty might be obviated by having, in addition to a strong battery on each shore, at the narrowest part . . . a third battery on Alcatrazos Island which lies within the Bay . . . and which, although about two miles from the other batteries would in cooperation with them and with a temporary battery on Point at the South and another on Angel Island at the North, concentrate the fire of so many guns upon any vessels that might get past the front line of teries, that they would be destroyed or so disabled as to become harmless. The officers urged the building without delay of the fortifications at Fort Point, Lime Point, and Alcatraz. They estimated that the cost of a battery on the island would be $600,000 at Pacific Coast prices. Five days later, before seeing this final report, President Fillmore declared Alcatraz Island reserved for public use, that is, as a military reservation. 3 3. NA, RG 77, OCE, Letters Received 1838-1866, Col. J. L. Smith, Sausalito Bay, Apr. 9, 1849, and Smith, Honolulu Bay, Dec. 5, 1849, to Totten, Smith, Sausalito Bay, Aug. 1 and 29, 1849, and Mar. 31, 1850, to Secretaries of War and Navy, and "Report relative to an examination of the Coast of the U.S. on the Pacific . . .," Nov. 1, 1850, to Secretaries of War and Navy . Fillmore's order was modified on Dec. 31, 1851, but this had no effect on Alcatraz. 12 3. Board of Engineers for the Pacific Coast On June 17, 1851, the defenses of San Francisco Bay took a positive step forward when Chief Engineer Totten established a Board of Engineers for the Pacific Coast. Eventually such a board would consist of engineer officers actually assigned to the West Coast, but for the time being the new board did its planning from Washington, n. C. Shortly after appointing the "board, Totten prepared a masterful dissertation on the national defenses of the United States. In it he noted that the new board had barely begun to work and "so far had determined only the locations of the proposed fort at Fort Point. He agreed with the old joint commission that Alcatraz Island belonged to the "First Class" and its battery should be built without delay. 4 Three of the army engineers who had been on the joint commission became members of the new board: Smith (the senior member), Ogden, and Leadbetter (the recorder). The two new members were Capt. James L. Mason, a veteran of the Mexican War, and Capt. Frederic A. Smith, who was to die within two months after completing the plans. These officers assembled in Washington in October 1851 and proceeded to plan the defenses of San Francisco Bay. In March of 1852 Leadbetter reported that a study had commenced on open (barbette) batteries for Alcatraz, as 4. usnI, NPS, Historic Structure Report, Fort Point, Historic Data Section, Fort Point National Historic Site, by Edwin C. Denver Service Center, National Park Service, 1973), p. 6; Joseph Gilbert Totten, Report of General J. G. Totten, Chief Engineer, on the Subject of NationaT Defences pp. A more complete discussion of this important report will be presented in a subsequent study of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It should be noted that the name "Fort Point" meant the point that had a (Spanish) battery or fort on it; it was not a fort named "Point. " 13 contrasted to the casemated works planned for Fort Point and Lime Point. On August 4, 1852, the board submitted its plans, estimates, and memoirs to Totten. They included a casemated fort at Fort Point, two redoubts for land defense south of Fort Point, a casemated battery at Lime Point, and open batteries and a defensive barracks on Alcatraz. Yet to come was a proposal for open batteries and a defensive barracks for Angel Island. John Lind Smith did not sign the documents inasmuch as he did not agree with the plans. As the procedures allowed, he was able to file a separate 5 minority report. The general plan had three principal objectives: 0) to prevent the passage of hostile ships into the harbor; (2) if an enemy vessel did gain entrance, to arrange batteries for the near defense of the town and the navy yard; and (3) to have an interior line of batteries that could fire on the three passages into San Pablo Bay--between Alcatraz and San Francisco, between Alcatraz and Angel Island, and through Raccoon Strait (the board used the original spelling "Racoon"). 4. Plan for Alcatraz The guns of day, said the board, could direct an annoying fire on a fleet at a distance of 2 miles, and at miles the fire could be quite effective. Should a ship manage to pass through the mile-wide entrance between Fort Point and Lime Point, then Alcatraz Island stood guard: 5. Smith submitted a separate minority report on Sept. 8, 1852. Its contents dealt solely with Fort Point. Later he forwarded one sheet of plans for Alcatraz. It called for three barbette batteries having a total of 31 gun emplacments and five small casemates or caponiers scattered around the island. See NA, Cartographic Division, RG 77, Fortifications File, Drawer 95-1, Col. J. L. Smith, "Plans and Sections of Works proposed for the Defense of Alcatrazos Island . . . Nov. 1852." 14 Nature seems to have provided a redoubt for this purpose in the shape of Alcatrazes Island--situated abreast the entrance directly in the middle of the inner harbor, it covers with its fire the whole of the interior space lying between Angel Island to the North, San Francisco to the South, and the outer batteries to the West. It is just three miles from each of the Entrance forts and consequently takes up the fire dropped by them at the 1-1/2 mile range. A vessel passing directly to San Francisco must pass within a mile; and the center of the city is about two miles distant. A vessel approaching the city from the north by the Riley channel [east of Angel Island] must pass within two miles of Alcatrazes--thus the main object of preventing an anchorage in the harbor within range of the town may be accomplished from this position and Rincon Point. The Island presents natural advantages for the site of a battery--The walls are already mostly scarped by nature in the solid rock. A slight degree of blasting would complete this part of the work, & the battery may at once be placed at a suitable height upon the top of the Island. It is proposed here to construct only open [barbette] batteries I to be armed with the heaviest pieces--a defensive barrack will be sufficient to complete the defences. In the memoir that accompanied the plan for Alcatraz I the · board presented details of the proposed fortifications. Two barbette batteries ,one at each end of the island I would cover the various channels. A caponier (a small, strongly built structure with guns mounted internally to provide flanking fire for the protection of the guns of the battery) would be located at each battery. A defensive barrack (capable of resisting shot from enemy guns as well as providing a defense by small arms against an enemy landing party) and a guardhouse would complete the works: The island being high & provided with a natural scarp [almost vertical cliffs] in many places I it has been decided to complete this escarpment [by removing the 15 gentler slopes] so as to secure a perpendicular height of 25 feet all round. . . . A battery of 20 guns is proposed to cover the passage to the North in conjunction with Angel Island, and a battery of 23 guns to cover the Southern passage. Three guns of this latter battery are designed to prevent a fleet lying to the east of the island. By blasting a small triangular ditch from the solid rock of which the whole island is composed, for a length of 690 feet [principally in front of the batteries], a height of at least 25 feet is secured [for the natural scarp], flanked for the greater portion of its length. A ramp [or road] at the wharf [to be built on the east side of the island, out of sight from the Golden Gate] is excavated from reference (10) to reference (30) [that is, from an elevation of ten feet above sea level near the wharf to a point 310 feet distant that was thirty feet above sea level]: --on the upper end of this ramp a wall being constructed on the inside. . . . A Guard house is placed at the upper end of the ramp enfilading it with 4 mountain howitzers or other small pieces: this guard house also enfilades the ditch on the other side [the "ditch" here became a covered road that led to the northwest battery]. · A defensive barrack capable of accommodating comfortably 100 men in bunks, is placed on the Southern end of the island having a good view of the Southern battery, and seeing the northeast slope of the island as far as the Northern caponniere. This barrack is provided with a parapet on the top & the windows of the second story are to be provided with iron bars, thus securing a height of about 33 feet. Three sheets of plans signed by the majority (four-fifths) of the board provided further detail. Lt. Fred Smith prepared all three sheets, using Warner's 1847 survey map as a base. The first sheet portrayed a map of the island showing the locations of the batteries, caponiers, guardhouse, and defensive barracks. An inset showed a floor plan (with four embrasures for howitzers) and a profile of the single story, parapeted guardhouse. T
  • Condition: Used
  • Type: Photograph
  • Year of Production: 1936
  • Unit Type: Unit
  • Image Color: Black & White
  • Time Period Manufactured: 1925-1949
  • Original/Licensed Reprint: Original
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
  • Framing: Unframed
  • Subject: ALCATRAZ ISLAND

PicClick Insights - Vintage 1936 Alcatraz Island United States Penitentiary Vintage Original Photo PicClick Exclusive

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