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Ellis Island
A quick ferry trip from Jersey City will bring you to Ellis Island, where more than 12 million new Americans arrived on the United States' eastern shores between 1892 and 1954. With ample parking and ticket offices in the historic Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, the ferry terminal at Liberty State Park is the fastest and most convenient way to reach Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty via the Statue Cruises ferry.
Named for Samuel Ellis, a butcher who owned the island in the late 1700s, Ellis Island was acquired by the US federal government in 1808 and became an immigration station in 1892. Over more than six decades, millions of immigrants from around the world entered the United States by way of the Registry Room (Great Hall) of the island's main building. 11 years after its final closure in 1954, Ellis Island was declared to be part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument by President Lyndon Johnson.
After an ambitious restoration of the main building that began in 1984, the Ellis Island Immigration Museum opened to the public in 1990. The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation's Web site features a searchable database of passenger arrival records, a history of Ellis Island and stories of the immigrant experience at www.ellisisland.org.
Save Ellis Island, a non-profit organization, has partnered with the National Park Service to raise awareness and funding to restore the remaining buildings of Ellis Island, including the former 750-bed hospital. In April 2007, the fully restored Ferry Building opened to the public with an exhibit about the history of the hospital. To learn more about Save Ellis Island, their efforts and their current programs, visit their Web site, www.saveellisisland.org. Read and watch America's stories of hope and inspiration at www.weareellisisland.org.
After five years of planning, the Ellis Island Institute has become a reality, with a mission to use the power of place on Ellis Island to explore the issues of immigration, diversity and human health, past and present, through high level conferences and seminars, and through exhibits, ethnic festivals, music and film festivals, theater and other public programming for the more than 2 million visitors to Ellis Island each year. Save Ellis Island is currently developing detailed plans for the Institute, while at the same time introducing public programs and tours in the restored Ferry Building as the first of many opportunities for the visiting public to discover the untold story of Ellis Island's unrestored hospital buildings.
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