President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he wanted Alcatraz to be returned to use as a maximum-security prison even though it has been closed for more than 60 years.
It stopped functioning as a prison in 1963 and was turned into a national park a decade later. It is one of the country's most popular, drawing more than 1.4 million visitors each year, and has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
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WATCH HEREHere are some other facts about the notorious former prison.
How big is Alcatraz?
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SIGN UP Its outsized place in the public's imagination aside, the island on which the prison was built is only 22 acres in the middle of the San Francisco Bay.
That's about the size of Rockefeller Center in mid-town Manhattan, which includes 30 Rock and the offices of NBC Universal, or Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta, known for the pipe bomb explosion during the 1996 Summer Olympics.
The island is 1.5 miles off the coast of San Francisco.
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What does Alcatraz's name mean?
Alcatraz was named "La Isla de los Alcatraces" or "The Island of the Pelicans" by Spanish explorer Lt. Juan Manuel de Ayala when he mapped San Francisco Bay in 1775, according to a history from the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. The federal Bureau of Prisons says that the exact meaning is still debated, but "Alcatraz is usually defined as 'pelican' or 'strange bird.'"
In the early 1850s, following the California Gold Rush and the boom that followed, the U.S. Army built a citadel or fortress at the top of the island. A lighthouse went into service in 1854 , the first on the Pacific Coast.
What famous prisoners were held at Alcatraz?
By the late 1850s, the first military prisoners were confined on the island, which would continue to serve as a prison for more than 100 years.
The military transferred the island to the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 1933 to use as a maximum-security prison for the worst prisoners in Federal custody. Some famous names held here: Robert Stroud or the so-called "Birdman of Alcatraz," Al Capone, George "Machine-Gun" Kelly, Alvin Karpis, who was the first "Public Enemy #1" and Arthur "Doc" Barker, the son of Ma Barker. The birdman did not have birds, the Bureau of Prisons says.
Most prisoners were not well known, but were considered violent or a risk for escape.
Did any prisoners escape from Alcatraz?
Not if you define an escape as successfully reaching land and not getting caught, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
Here are a few numbers that show how difficult it was to leave.
There were only 14 attempts in the 29 years the prison operated. Of the 36 men who tried, and that includes two who made two attempts, 23 were caught, six were shot and killed, and two drowned.
Among those who were caught, two later died in the gas chamber of the California State Prison at San Quentin. They were executed for their role in the death of a correctional officer during the "Battle of Alcatraz" escape attempt in 1946.
Can you swim to Alcatraz?
Yes, the "shark-infested waters" with "man-eating" sharks are only a myth.
There is no known record of an attack on humans by a great white shark inside the bay, although they have been observed inside the Bay on several occasions, according to the nonproft Shark Stewards.
Yes, tiger sharks, sevengill sharks and thresher sharks are commonly found in the Bay, but they pose little risk to humans.
Each year, approximately 2,000 athletes participate in the "Escape from Alcatraz" triathlon, which includes a swim portion that begins from a boat just off the island to the mainland.
Fitness guru Jack LaLanne once swam all the way to the island pulling a rowboat, according to the Bureau of Prisons. Two 10-year-old children also made it successfully.
