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The Restoration of Ellis Island |
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From the day of its opening in 1897 until it closed its doors in 1954, Ellis Island witnessed the arrival of millions of immigrants seeking a new life in the United States. It is estimated that nearly 40% of Americans can trace their ancestry to individuals who came through Ellis Island.
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, anti-immigration and isolationist sentiments reached their peak. Opponents of immigration painted an alarming portrait of potential immigrants as an illiterate, violent, radical and dangerous mob. As a result, Congress passed, over President Wilson's veto, legislation that included requirements for literacy tests and essentially barred immigration from Asia. The decrease was dramatic. In 1915 Ellis Island admitted 178,000 people, that number fell to 26,000 by 1919. After the war refugees fleeing wartime Europe pushed immigration to 560,971 by 1921, back to its pre-war levels. Anti-immigration sentiment remained however and in 1921 President Harding signed the first Quota Act which set monthly quotas on immigration. The 1924 National Origins act further restricted immigration and made it possible for prospective immigrants to be inspected before leaving their country of origin, eliminating the need for a stop at Ellis Island. For the next 30 years, Ellis served primarily as a detention location for deportees and in 1954, the island ceased operations entirely. The buildings fell into disuse and exposure to the brutal weather of New York harbor, vandalism, and graffiti ravaged the buildings over succeeding decades.
By Presidential Order, in 1965, the island became a part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, but due to limited funding was left unrestored. It remained untouched until 1976 when it re-opened, briefly, for the U.S. bicentennial celebrations. Work began on a major restoration effort in 1984 and six years later, culminated in the restoration of the main registry building. Further stabilization and restoration of the other 31 buildings on the island began in 2001.
This page provides information on the restoration project, and links to resources for further research.
The Restoration Project
After Ellis Island closed its doors in 1954, the General Services Administration put it up for sale with other surplus government property. Potential buyers made various bids to turn the island into an amusement park, a slaughterhouse, a women's prison, and a casino, but none of the offers was high enough. The property, as the years passed, continued to decline.
Eleven years later, Stewart Udall, Secretary of the Interior in Lyndon Johnson's administration, visited Ellis Island and recognized its importance in America's history. In 1965, by Presidential proclamation, Ellis Island became a part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument thus falling under the care of the National Park Service.
In 1968, Nation Park Service Staff architects drew up an initial Master Plan for Ellis Island. Limited by a ceiling of 6 million dollars then allocated by Congress, this plan called for the demolition of most existing buildings except for the main hall. According to a 1978 Park Service study, this plan was "later repudiated in the 1970's".
In preparation for the 1976 bicentennial celebrations, Congress allocated $1 million to stabilize the site for the upcoming summer and develop further plans for its future restoration. The Island opened temporarily for the summer of 1976 and between May and October of that year 50,000 people visited the island.
In 1978 the National Park Service prepared a study, simply entitled Ellis Island Study. This study documented the damage the site had undergone over the previous 34 years and posited a variety of different restoration options and analyzed their costs.
The formation of the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island foundation in 1982 marked a significant step in the restoration of both monuments. Through private donations and federal money, restoration work began on Ellis Island's Main Registry building in 1984. Preservation work focused on the period 1918-1924 since this coincided with peak immigration years and the construction of the hall's barrel-vaulted ceiling. In 1990 upon completion of the 162 million-dollar project, a touchstone in American immigration history re-opened its doors to the public. However, restoration efforts on the island continue. Plans have been made for the stabilization and eventual restoration of the other 32 buildings on site.
 The interior of the main Registry building. |
 The rusting hull of the ferry that would take Ellis visitors to the mainland. |
 Broken windows in an unidentified building on Ellis Island. |
 Chipped stonework on another unidentified Ellis building. |
 The sign pointing to New York, city of opportunity, remains despite surrounding deterioration. |
 The currents and abuse of New York Harbor caused significant damage to the dock in front of the Main Registry building. |
After Photos
Click on any image to enlarge it.
Print Resources
Coan, Peter. 1997. Ellis Island Interviews: In Their Own Words. New York: Facts on File.
Holland, F. Ross. 1993. Idealists, Scoundrels, and the Lady. An Insider's View of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Project. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
Øverland, Orm. 2000. Immigrant Minds, American Identities : Making the United States Home.Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
U.S. Department of the Interior. National Park Service. 1968. A Master Plan for Ellis Island New York. Washington, D.C.
U.S. Department of the Interior. National Park Service. 1981. Historic Structure Report, Ellis Island. Washington, D.C.
Web Resources
American Family Immigration History Center.
Ellis Island Immigration Museum.
The American Immigrant Wall of Honor.
Ellis Island National Monument (National Park Service)
The front of the restored main registry building. Source: http://www.oar.noaa.gov/spotlite/archive/spot_ecotourism.html.
The interior of the restored main registry room. Source:http://ellis-island.visit-new-york-city.com/
Resources for Further Research
A comprehensive site that allows you to research your family's history and compile a scrapbook with the documents and artifacts available.
The home page for the Immigration Museum, it contains a detailed
history of immigration and information on visiting the island.
At this site you can submit the names of your ancestors to have them placed on the wall of honor.
The is the official National Park Service website for Ellis Island. It contains a brief history of ellis island as well as information about visiting the site
