Adventures With Amy | San Francisco 2003

San Francisco 2003: Alcatraz Island and Angel Island

While most people have heard of Alcatraz Prison on an island just off the coast from San Francisco, many do not know about the nearby Angel Island. Angel Island is located north of Alctraz Island in the San Francisco Bay. We were fortunate enough to find a ferry that took us to both.

Angel Island is a former immigration station. Also known as "Ellis Island of the West," Angel Island was the first stop for millions of immigrants entering the United States from Asia, the Pacific Basin and Eastern Europe. Miwok Indians hunted for game on the island and the U.S. military later placed troops on Angel Island during the Civil War and Spanish American War of 1898. Prisoners of war were kept on Angel Island in World War II and from 1955 to 1962 there were Nike missiles emplaced to ward off any Russian bombers trying to strike the American mainland.

Our ferry ticket included a guided tram ride around Angel Island. The island has fantastic views of the Golden Gate bridge, San Francisco and Sausalito.

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Alcatraz Island has a long history. The island was originally occupied by the military as a fort; followed by an army prison camp (where the prisoners created the jails that held them); then as the famous "prison within the prison system" where the nation's worst criminals were sent; then as the site of a Native American peace community; and now, as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Alcatraz Island, as the notorious former Federal penitentiary, was home to the likes of Al Capone, "Machine Gun" Kelly and Robert "Birdman" Stroud. It is now owned by the National Park Service. Alcatraz, Spanish for pelican, was named Isla de los Alcatraces after the birds that were the island’s only inhabitants. The island served as a military fortification in the 1850s and an incarceration facility for war prisoners during the Spanish-American War. In 1934 Alcatraz became the infamous maximum-security prison for Mafia criminals and high-risk convicts. "The Rock" remained a federal penitentiary until 1963.

While this island is interesting to visit, it is also very creepy!

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