Bureau of Prison regulations stipulated that the area 200 yards off the Rock was off-limits to all boats not on official business. Those who ignored the warning signs and buoys were shot at. For 29 years, most people only saw the waterline area of Alcatraz which, though they did not know it, revealed many rich facts about the prison's military and penal past. This tour of Alcatraz takes the visitor around the island, identifying many of the prominent buildings which are visible at water's edge and which tell the story of the Rock as it passed from military fortress to prison to Native American cultural center to national park. First Stop ...