
Alcatraz. The very word stokes the imagination, strikes fear, revulsion, fascination, academic interest and deep curiosity. How few words can claim the same? The roster of inmates whose criminal careers ended here reads like a list of power players in our mind’s eye: Robert Stroud (the famous “Birdman” of Alcatraz), Al Capone, “Machine Gun” Kelly and so many others. This place conjures images and sensations, the ghosts of this infamous prison stalk and haunt the history, if not the very halls, of this former Civil War era fortress-turned-hell hole.
There was no escape, and even the few who may have come close were never seen or heard from again, likely claimed by torturous currents, frigid and unforgiving waters or by Great White Sharks patrolling the surrounding deeps. A visit here is a must, its bone-chilling name is synonymous with the city itself and the bleak vision of its steep cliffs from the waterfront only hints at what may be seen by visitors who make the crossing. Dare to do so, and you will be changed and awed.