| :: New York City >Financial District
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Attraction >Landmark
| Ellis Island |
Address:
Hudson River
| New York City | 10004
Region:
Financial District
Rating:
 
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More Info
Phone: 212-269-5755
FAX:
Website
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Description and Basic Information ::
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 Ellis Island was the gateway for oversea émigrés to get into the United Sates. Over 40 percent of all Americans have ancestors who traveled through Ellis Island before being permitted to enter the United States. Hordes of foreigners were processed through the Island from 1892 until 1954---imagine the lines of people, day-in, day-out, with their wide-eyed stares fixed on the Statue of Liberty as they wait their turn to begin a life in the land of opportunity.
Today the island contains two modern theaters and 30 galleries of artifacts, photos, multimedia presentations and temporary exhibits that relate to the Island’s intriguing history.
Visitors can either walk through the three floors of the Immigration Museum on a self-guided tour or take a 45-minute guided tour lead by a park ranger. Either way, the tours are personalized with anecdotal information that brings the story of Ellis Island to life. Learn about the immigration experience through ''Ellis Island Stories,'' as professional actors portray numerous tales collected from the Ellis Island History Archive. There is an additional fee for this 30-minute play, but it's well worth it.
Other highlights include the Baggage Room, the Registry Room and the Peopling of America exhibit. The Registry Room is where ''six-second physicals'' took place and immigrants were processed for medical and legal matters. The Peopling of America exhibit is housed in what was once the Railroad Ticket Office, where immigrants could make travel arrangements to their final destinations. Today it contains exhibits dating spanning over 400 years of immigration history.
Particularly moving is the American Immigrant Wall of Honor, inscribed with the names of more than 500,000 immigrants, including John Washington (George Washington's great-grandfather!), and the descendants of Irving Berlin, Harry Houdini and Barbara Streisand.
To reach Ellis Island, one must take the ferry from Battery Park. It leaves daily every 30 to 45 minutes from 9am to about 4:30pm. You can purchase tickets (covering both transportation and admission to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty) in Battery Park's Castle Clinton. |
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:: New York City >Financial District :: |
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