History:
In 1852, the Gold Rush was a frenzy and ship traffic to San Francisco was steadily increasing. Alcatraz island, squarely in line with passage through the Golden Gate, was a logical place for a lighthouse. On June 1, 1854, the Alcatraz lighthouse began operations, and the Alcatraz light became the first one in operation on the Pacific Coast.

Over the years, the Alcatraz light was converted to from oil to kerosene and then to electricity. In 1909, the original lighthouse was replaced with the 84-foot concrete lighthouse seen today.

The lighthouse keepers lived in a home at its base and climbed the tall tower to clean the lens and keep the oil lamps full.

In 1963, shortly after the federal prison closed, the lighthouse was automated, and the last of the lightkeepers left the Island.

The lightkeepers' quarters were destroyed by fire in 1970. That was the only service interruption in the history of the Alcatraz lighthouse. The light continues to shine today under the supervision of the United States Coast Guard.

Source: http://www.alcatraz.us/alcatraz-virtual-tour/alcatraz-lighthouse.html

Hours:
There are daily boat tours out to Alcatraz Island. Tours generally last about two hours. For more information go to the Alcatraz website at http://www.alcatraz.us and click on Tours.

Personal Note:
The link to the photo taken from 1954 was taken by my dad. He was in the air force, on a naval ship returning from Japan during the Korean War. He snapped this photo as they were entering San Francisco Bay.  At the time he took this photo, Alcatraz was still an active federal prison!

Latitude/Longitude: 37°50'N 122°25'W

Directions:

- Daily tour boats leave from Pier 41at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.