Welcome to KQED's Hidden Alcatraz Web site. You will need Flash 5 or above to view this site properly. It only takes a few minutes. Won't you please download the free plug-in now?

If you believe you already have Flash 5, go ahead and start the movie.

What you will see:
  • The construction of the military fortress and its role in an early San Francisco teeming with gold, greed and Confederate conspirators.
  • The infamous penitentiary that was the last stop for hard case criminals and a glamourous island home for the families of prison authorities.
  • The 19-month occupation of the island by American Indians who fired the national imagination and began a Native People's movement that spread around the world.
  • The island as bird sanctuary, important piece of U.S. history and national park.