Alcatraz Island suddenly shuts for tourists weeks after Trump demands $150M to reopen it as infamous prison

Source: The Independent

Tuesday 21 April 2026 11:45 EDT


Alcatraz Island has abruptly closed its doors to tourists just weeks after President Trump demanded over $150 million to reopen the infamous prison. ​

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary - which sits in the water near San Francisco - closed for good as an operating prison in 1963 and now welcomes around 1.2 million visitors per year, according to the National Park Service. ​Now, on the NPS’s website, an alert says that the closure began on Monday and will last until Friday.​

“Access to the island is temporarily closed for dock repair,” the warning reads. “All scheduled tours have been refunded.”

​In an email obtained by SFGATE, Joshua Winchell, the park’s communications chief, said that the closure was “planned” and “pre-scheduled.”​ The work will be carried out “specifically to repair and inspect the dock pilings.”​ The Trump administration has long expressed interest in reopening a prison on Alcatraz Island, and the White House released a 2027 budget proposal earlier this year that seeks $152 million to restore the facility.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/alcatraz-island-trump-close-reopening-b2961644.html