Pier 4 Original Alcatraz Pier

Pier 4 at Fort Mason served as the primary departure point for prisoners being transported to the federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island. Before the facility on the island became a famous maximum-security prison, military vessels frequently docked here to ferry personnel and supplies across the bay. The original structure dating back to the late nineteenth century was eventually replaced in nineteen thirty-one with a reinforced concrete pier, which allowed for more substantial military transport operations. Today, the pier stands as a quiet remnant of that era, having survived the transformation of the surrounding military reservation into a cultural and recreational center.