Ellis Island

Ellis Island is a small island in New York Harbor that handled one of the largest movements of people in history. Between 1892 and 1954, more than 12 million immigrants passed through it on their way into the United States. The federal government opened the station on January 1, 1892. Before that, New York's immigrants had been processed at Castle Garden at the tip of Manhattan. The first Ellis Island buildings were made of wood, and they burned in 1897. The brick and limestone main building that stands today opened in 1900, and the island was enlarged several times with fill to make room for hospitals and other buildings.

Not everyone had to go there. First- and second-class passengers were usually inspected on board their ships. It was the steerage passengers who were ferried over to Ellis Island, climbed the stairs to the great registry room, and were checked by doctors and inspectors. Most got through in a few hours. A small share were held for medical care or further hearings, and some were sent back.

A common story holds that inspectors changed people's names at Ellis Island. Historians have found no evidence for it. Officers worked from ships' passenger lists made at the port of departure. Names did change, but usually later, by the immigrants themselves.

The station closed in 1954 and sat empty for decades. This board includes black-and-white photographs from 1978, when the buildings were abandoned, with peeling paint and broken windows. They make a strong contrast with the busy years. The island became part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965, and the main building reopened as a museum in 1990 after a long restoration.

The board also has color prints and pictures of old New York City, the place most of these immigrants first saw. When you look at the pictures, notice the view of lower Manhattan across the water. For a new arrival standing on the island, that skyline was the first real sight of America, close enough to see and still not quite reached.