A visit to New York City becomes even more meaningful with a visit to Ellis Island to learn its significance and discover what’s inside Ellis Island, especially with kids.
Ellis Island, the most well-known port of entry in the entire world and a concrete representation of the American immigrant experience, is now a National Monument. Roughly 12 million men, women, and children stepped foot on American soil for the first time at the federal immigration facility on Ellis Island, between 1892 and 1924.
More than 40% of current American citizens had had their ancestors processed by the time the facility closed in 1954. This island is essential to the story of modern America.
Ellis Island: The Museum & the Island’s Significance
The elegant main building of Ellis Island, designed in the beaux arts style, was reopened to the public as the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in 1990 after a protracted and expensive restoration.
The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, housed in the island’s main structure, is now a national monument. It tells the story of immigration from the Colonial era to the present day.
The museum’s interactive exhibits honouring the hope, jubilation, and occasionally bitter disappointment of the millions who came here in search of a new beginning
These stories are told through a number of galleries that contain artefacts, photos, and recorded oral histories.
Anyone who takes the ferry to the island can now experience a modern version of the historic new-arrival experience.
Amongst those who have passed through the immigration hall at Ellis Island include Hungarian Erik Weisz (better known as Harry Houdini), the Italian Rodolfo Guglielmi (also known as Rudolph Valentino), the Frenchwoman Lily Chauchoin (Claudette Colbert), and the British actor Archibald Alexander Leach (or Cary Grant).
Ellis Island was originally 3.3 acres in size. However, between 1892 and 1934, the island significantly increased in size. This was the result of landfill brought to the island from ships’ ballast and the development of the city’s subway system.
What’s Inside the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration
The Main Building at Ellis Island was designed by Edward Lippincott Tilton and William A. Boring. It was meant to serve as a prelude to America. The pair was awarded the contract after the 1897 fire destroyed the first wooden structure on Ellis Island.
It is not surprising that they chose a beaux-arts aesthetic for the project given that they studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
With its imposing triple-arched entrances, decorative Flemish bond brickwork, granite cornerstones, and belvederes, the Main Building resembles an opulent train station.
The exhibits at the museum are spread over three levels. There are permanent and temporary exhibitions at the museum.
The first floor’s Journeys: The Peopling of America 1550-1890 exhibit is worthwhile, but it is only an introduction.
The second floor is where two most fascinating exhibits can be found.
Peak Immigration Years: 1880-1924 examines the reasons behind the immigrants’ journeys and the difficulties they encountered once they were free to start their new lives in America.
Through America’s Gate examines the step-by-step process faced by the newly arrived in the stunning, vaulted Great Hall.
The Great Hall: Registry Room
The second floor’s 338-foot-long Registry Room will your breath away. People like polygamists, paupers, criminals, and anarchists were turned away as the newly arrived lined up to have their documents checked under the stunning vaulted ceiling.
The original plaster ceiling suffered significant damage as a result of a nearby Black Tom Wharf explosion of munitions barges.Rafael Guastavino’s eye-catching herringbone-patterned tiles were used to adorn the rebuilt version.
The Registry Room, also referred to as the Great Hall, serves as the museum’s focal point.
Photographs show that over the years, it took on a variety of configurations, but it was always crammed with people looking for a new life and hope in America. The collection of old photos provide intimate glimpses into the daily lives of these brave new Americans.
While you’re inside the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, look at the tall, arched windows in the Registry Room and try to imagine what was going through immigrants’ minds.
On one side the the Statue of Liberty and on the other side is the Lower Manhattan skyline.
More around the Ellis Island Museum
You should also make the time to visit the third-floor Restoring a Landmark exhibition. which features a collection that include broken chairs, desks, and other abandoned possessions that show the history of the building itself.
Peopling of America Center
The Peopling of America Center is a significant part of the Ellis Island Museum. It examines immigration to the United States before and after Ellis Island. Be sure to visit it in addition to the Registry Room.
You can gain first-person accounts of the immigrant’s journey—from making the trip and arriving in the United States to their struggle and survival once they arrived. There are also interpretive graphics and moving audio stories that provide deep insight into the experience of migration.
American Family Immigration Centre
Additionally, there is the American Family Immigration Centre, where you can look up your own ancestors in Ellis Island records, and the American Flag of Faces, an engaging exhibit featuring a montage of pictures of immigrants.
From the first floor Journeys: The Peopling of America 1550-1890 exhibit, you can also access the outdoor American Immigrant Wall of Honor exhibit.
The names of more than 700,000 immigrants are inscribed on the American Immigrant Wall of Honor which is set against the Manhattan skyline. It was a fundraising initiative that enables any American to have an immigrant relative’s name recorded in exchange for a donation. It is thought to be the longest wall of names in the world.
Fort Gibson, the island’s original building, was discovered during the wall’s construction in the 1990s. A harbour defence system against the British that included Castle Clinton in Battery Park and Castle Williams on Governors Island was constructed in 1808 and included the fortification.
There is also a cafe at Ellis Island but the food is lacklustre. You may wish to save your stomach for eating at one of the restaurants in Lower Manhattan instead.
Making the Most of Your Visit to Ellis Island: Inside Tips
It’s a good idea to use the interpretive resources provided by the museum because there is a lot to learn.
Free movie tickets, dates and times for ranger tours, and special events can all be found at the front desk.
You can always pick up one of the phones in each exhibit area and listen to recorded, moving recollections of actual Ellis Island immigrants recorded in the 1980s.
Take advantage of the audio tour that guides you through the exhibits while providing in-depth, interesting commentary interspersed with recordings of actual immigrants discussing their personal experiences.
The free 50-minute self-guided audio tour is available from the museum lobby and included with the ferry ticket.
The tour brings to life the museum’s sizable collection of personal objects, official documents, photographs, and film footage by incorporating narratives from a variety of sources, including historians, architects, and the immigrants themselves.
The ability to access these personal memories — both positive and negative — in the same hallways and corridors where they took place is an evocative experience.
Another option is the join the free 45-minute guided tour led by a park ranger. If you book the tour three weeks in advance by phone, it is also available in American Sign Language.
Getting to Ellis Island
Ellis Island is free to visit, but you will have to pay for the roundtrip ferry fare from Battery Park to Liberty Island and Ellis Island.
Depending on the season, ferries depart from The Battery in Lower Manhattan and Liberty State Park in New Jersey every 30 to 45 minutes.
Arrive early, especially if you have a ticket with a reserved time, as there are frequently long lines.
Find out more about Ellis Island.
