Ellis Island

Location: New York, New York, USA
Address: Ellis Island
Date: Jan 2009
Website:  www.nps.gov/elis/index.htm
   Any trip to the Statue of Liberty also includes a boat trip to Ellis Island.  Ellis Island used to be the main point of immigration into America.  There were about 12 million immigrants from the time it opened in 1892 until it closed its doors in 1954.  After it closed it fell into disrepair.  It was eventually restored and re-opened to the public as an Immigration Museum in 1990.  The island is jointly owned by New York and New Jersey and after a 1998 court battle, the majority belongs to New Jersey.  During a typical visit to the island you will most likely have been in both states.  New Jersey even has a bridge that connects the island with the mainland, but it is not open to the general public. 

   To get to Ellis Island or Liberty Island you must go by boat.   You have the choice of deciding which return boat you take. It just depends if you wish to end up in New York or New Jersey after your visit.

  The Registry Room is the most impressive.  It is here that the crowds waited for their chance to enter the country.  There are also many exhibits that explain the building's history and show what the experience would have been like.  It also shows many of the faces that make up the country today.

  Across the water Lady Liberty is visible from the Great Hall.  Like all the hopeful immigrants who passed through this island many years ago, we arrived by boat.  However, the trip from Ellis Island was much easier for us.  The line-up for the boat was nice and short and we didn't even have to show any paperwork in order to be allowed back to Manhattan.

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Map of Our World
Ellis Island

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Post # 34