Ellis Island History - Romancing Manhattan Tours

Welcome to Ellis Island where life in America started for millions of immigrants. For decades immigrants to NY came through Castle Garden - an old fort built to defend NY harbor during the war of 1812 and is now known as Castle Clinton, where ferry tickets are sold to visit the SOL and EI. But by 1890 the antiquated facility had been overwhelmed by the tidal wave of new immigrants pouring in from eastern and southern Europe and work began on a new immigration station far out in the harbor, on an abandoned ammunition dump called Ellis Island. Opened in 1892 then rebuilt in 1900 after a fire, the massive complex of brick, stone and steel was a city unto itself, with 14 acres consisting of 34 buildings including its own power station, a 125-bed hospital, police and fire departments, and laundries, dormitories and kitchens. The federal immigration station on Ellis Island processed nearly 3 quarters of all immigrants entering the country in the first quarter of the 20th century. Built to accommodate half a million people a year, it would soon be handling twice that number. Year by year, the number of arrivals kept rising. 8 thousand a day, then 10 thousand. By the Spring of 1907, more than 11 thousand men, women and children were passing through in a single day. For the immigrants themselves, the arrival in New York was both an ending and a beginning. The midway point in a voyage of transformation that had begun thousands of miles away. In the years to come, the experience of these newcomers would be woven into the myth of America and no one would ever forget the day they arrived. It was, like one man said, like a second birth. Most of them had heard the same thing. There was freedom and opportunity in America, for anyone willing to work, and the place with the most jobs was the sprawling, unfathomably large port city of New York. Once past Liberty Island, however, anticipation turned to unease, as the domes and minarets of Ellis Island loomed into view. One Italian immigrant recalled, “The thrill was unbelievable. But always the fear… because you have to go through Ellis Island. I heard all kinds of things that they would tell you on the boat. ‘My God’, I said… ‘I hope they’re not going to send me back.’ Though most immigrants passed through the inspection process in 3 - 5 hours, approximately one in five was detained for further examination. After the harrowing medical examination immigrants were directed [here] into the Registry Room for a final inspection, where they waited hours for their name to be called. Our favorite place on Ellis Island is an area that came to be known as the Kissing Post. It was located down at the bottom of these stairs. This staircase also has a nickname. It became known as the Stairs of Separation and is where many of the heartbreaking stories you’ll hear about Ellis Island took place. The staircase is divided into 3 sections: the right-hand side led to the railroad ticket office, the left-hand side to the NY ferry; but the middle staircase was for those immigrants who didn’t pass the inspection and were either detained or sent back home. So this is the exact spot where some family members, after a long journey far away from home, filled with hope… after being denied entry to the US said their final goodbyes. Imagine leaving your home and all your belongings behind for the hope and chance for a new and better life just to have one of your family members not make it though. The heartbreak that took place right here at this very spot is unimaginable. But on the flip side, at the bottom of these very stairs was where arriving immigrants were reunited with loved ones and family members who had come before them and were anxiously awaiting their arrival. How many places exist in the world that share the opposites of such extreme emotion. One the one hand you have the agony and despair of separation from a loved one you will most likely never see again, and on the other, the intense joy and happiness of being reunited with those you love after a long period of doubt and hope that they will make it through. In the end, less than 2% of the more than 12 million immigrants who passed through Ellis Island were denied entry into the US. Following signs marked “West” and “New England” most quickly dispersed to distant towns and cities across the country. But for one in four of the new arrivals, the final destination was a 15-minute ferry ride away, on an island many of them would never leave again. On board the ferry, approaching Battery Park, they stood in wonder at the last and most extravagant sight of all - the gleaming skyline of NY - a vision that seemed to confirm everything they hoped the New World would be.