President Richard Nixon, a native Californian, promoted an idea in 1972 to turn an iconic stretch of California’s coastline into a national park.
It would include the headlands around the Golden Gate and two nearby islands.
One was Angel Island, and the other was Alcatraz—where a federal prison had been permanently closed nine years earlier.
On Feb. 8, 1972, Nixon sent a message to Congress. “I propose legislation to establish a Golden Gate National Recreation Area in and around San Francisco Bay,” he said. “Altogether, the area would encompass some 24,000 acres of fine beaches, rugged coasts, and readily accessible urban parklands, extending approximately 30 miles along some of America’s most beautiful coastline north and south of Golden Gate Bridge.”
“Angel and Alcatraz Islands in the bay would be within the boundaries of the National Recreation…
