PostalPast
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Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California

Subject
Waterfronts & Harbors
Card type
Lithograph
Front of Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, lithograph postcard
Front
Back of Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, lithograph postcard
Back

About this subject

A long waterfront industrial or institutional building complex with red roofs and many windows sits on a point of land, with a distant town shoreline beyond and open water in the foreground. A small steamboat with a smokestack moves across the lower right of the scene.

Postcard Details

Message

No message detected

PublisherNational Color Press
ALCATRAZ ISLAND, SAN FRANCISCO BAY In San Francisco Bay, just opposite the entrance of the Golden Gate, lies Alcatraz Island, known to Federal prisoners as "The Rock." This small island of picturesque outline guards the entrance of the harbor, and from a plane has all the appearance of a huge dismantled warship. 116 MADE BY THE NATIONAL COLOR PRESS, SAN FRANCISCO POST CARD THIS SPACE FOR ADDRESS ONLY PLACE STAMP HERE
Addressed to

No address detected

Postcard record

ConditionGood
Place mentionedAlcatraz Island, San Francisco, CA
PublisherSan Francisco, CA
NotesNo printed text or white border visible on the front; scan appears rotated so the shoreline runs across the frame. Flat, poster-like color typical of lithographic printing. No postmark, no stamp, no handwritten message. Undivided back ("THIS SPACE FOR ADDRESS ONLY"), glossy chrome-era card with National Color Press imprint. Dealer pencil mark "#59 / 1-" in lower right corner.

Cite this card

Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, postcard, n.d.. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/alcatraz-island-san-francisco-bay-california-2. Accessed October 5, 2026.