Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary and the island became a prison of the Federal Bureau of Prisons in August 1934 after the buildings were modernized to meet the requirements of a top-notch security prison. Given this high security and the location of Alcatraz in the cold waters and strong currents of San Francisco Bay, the prison operators believed Alcatraz to be escape-proof and America's strongest prison. Alcatraz was designed to hold prisoners who continuously caused trouble at other federal prisons. One of the world's most notorious and best known prisons over the years, Alcatraz housed some 1,576 of America's most ruthless criminals including Al Capone,
Alcatraz Island "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4" as a playable level, and in the video game "" in a downloadable zombie survival map called "Mob of the Dead". It is also featured as a playable racetrack in the 1996 arcade racing video game "". Alcatraz has also been portrayed often as a safe haven or base of operations in many post-apocalyptic movies, such as "The Book of Eli". Alcatraz even appears in "The Alchemyst" and "The Sorceress" by author "Michael Scott" and is depicted as a prison for the immortal "Perenelle Flamel". Alcatraz is featured in the episode "Bird Mummy of Alcatraz"