Federal officials recently visited Alcatraz as part of the president's efforts to reopen the historic site as a prison. How did we get here?

President Donald Trump's idea to reopen Alcatraz prison is ridiculous for many reasons, but high among them: It's a tremendously successful tourist destination, Peter Hartlaub writes.

Alcatraz Island, a military fort turned an army prison in the San Francisco Bay, is most well known for operating as a federal prison from 1934 until 1963. That distinction is being challenged ...

In 1981, the facility became the state-operated, minimum to medium security McNeil Island Corrections Center (MICC) and remained as the oldest prison in the Northwest and the last U.S. island ...

Alcatraz Island, a military fort turned an army prison in the San Francisco Bay, is most well known for operating as a federal prison from 1934 until 1963.

Some say inmates and prison guards who died on Alcatraz over the years continue to haunt the island. In addition, some Native American tribes believe the island was a place of malevolent spirits.

Alcatraz zookeepers refuse to give up even as species are dying in Emma Sloley's 'The Island of Last Things,' a resilient novel set in the future.

The facility, which US President Donald Trump also visited, has come under fire for its treatment of detainees and alleged environmental violations.