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There is a wealth of information about Alcatraz on the World Wide Web. Here are a few sites that we recommend to start with.
This site was developed by the Museum Management Division of the National Park Service and features photos and information on objects in the park’s museum collection as well as audio content and some QTVR 360 degree photos of parts of the island.
(Note that as the following two sites are commercial we are not able to directly offer a link, you will need to cut-and-paste the url in to your browser window to access these pages.)
www.alcatrazhistory.com
www.fortressalcatraz.com
These are two private sites that contain good information about Alcatraz.
The first site covers the penitentiary years (1934 - 1963) and contains a lot of information not otherwise available online, for example the text of the “Rules and Regulations” book given to all inmates, and a listing of all inmates from the penitentiary era.
The second site, by a former Alcatraz park ranger, concentrates on the military history of Alcatraz from 1850 to 1934.
Bureau of Prisons official site, contains some basic information on Alcatraz history (at ). Additional information is available here but generally hard to find unless you use the site search engine (for example, the FALLEN HEROS section contains information on Correctional Officers who died on the island in the line of duty).
The Federal Bureau of Investigation site contains information on “Famous Cases” in FBI history including some related to Alcatraz. A search will find some of the information they have available – but not all of it is obvious - for example go to their FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) site at to find entire files on persons and events related to Alcatraz history, like their files related to Alphonse Capone (2397 pages!). You almost need to know what you are looking for (by name of individual) though - for example there is information about former Alcatraz inmate Morton Sobel in the Julies and Ethel Rosenberg files if you know to look for it there.
This is the site of the Alcatraz Alumni Association (former guards and their families) who return to Alcatraz in August each year for an Alumni Day, when they meet with the public and share their stories (note: this day sells out about two weeks in advance each year – see for reservations). Former inmates are also invited for the Alumni Day on Alcatraz, though they are not members of the Alcatraz Alumni Association.
Both of these sites are for Public Broadcasting Service and have Alcatraz sections related to videos – pbs.org related the WE HOLD THE ROCK (the American Indian occupation) and kqed.org related to the video LONELY ISLAND HIDDEN ALCATRAZ which is an overview of the island’s history. Use the site search engines to locate the Alcatraz sections. Also has teacher’s guides, links, etc.
An article by Dr. Troy Johnson and photo archive by photographers Ilka Hartmann and Michelle Vignes on the American Indian occupation of Alcatraz in 1969.
(Note that as the following site is commercial we are not able to directly offer a link so you will need to cut-and-paste the url in to your browser window to load this page.)
www.nativepeoples.com/article/articles/144/1/Alcatraz-Taking-Back-quotThe-Rockquot/Page1.html
An article from NATIVE PEOPLES MAGAZINE on the Alcatraz Occupation written in 1999 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary.
Text of THE ALCATRAZ PROCLAMATION TO THE GREAT WHITE FATHER AND HIS PEOPLE, 1969, from the American Indian occupation of Alcatraz.
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