Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Restoration of
Ellis Island
Top 10
Nationalities
Entering Ellis
Island
1 Italy: 2,502,310
2 Austria and Hungary:
2,275,852
3 Russia: 1,893, 542
4 Germany: 633,148
5 England: 551, 969
6 Ireland: 520, 904
7 Sweden: 348,036
8 Greece: 245, 058
9 Norway: 226,278
0 Ottoman Empire:
212, 825
(Between 1892-7, 1901-31)
Laws defining immigration quotas enacted in 1924
drastically curtailed the numbers of foreigners coming
into the U.S., and Ellis Island was no longer needed
as an immigration depot. It became a detention and
deportation center for undesirable aliens, a training
center for the U.S. Coast Guard, and a hospital for
wounded servicemen during World War II. In 1954
the U.S. government closed the island. It remained
abandoned until 1984, when a $156 million renewal
project replaced the copper roof domes, cleaned the
mosaic tiles, and restored the interior, preserving any
surviving original fixtures in the largest historic
restoration in U.S. history.
The restoration included the establishment of the
Ellis Island Immigration Museum (see pp18-19),
telling the immigrant story through displays and
more than 2,000 artifacts. The museum also has
an oral history archive of taped interviews and an
interactive children's gallery, both available to visit by
appointment. Reopened to the public in 1990, Ellis
Island receives almost 2 million visitors every year.
Restoration
Preservation of Ellis Island began in 1965
with the rebuilding of the seawall, but the
biggest task was the restoration of the
main building, which had deteriorated
severely. The period of 1918-24 was chosen
for reconstruction because this coincided
with a peak time for immigration.
Glass canopy marking the restored main entrance to Ellis Island
For more New York museums
See pp40-41
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