Comments on Vacation Spots

When you are done visiting the Statue of Liberty, continue your tour by going to Ellis Island. While not as majestic and inspiring as Miss Liberty, your heart will likely be touched by the humanity of the museum.

Ellis Island is a symbol of America’s immigrant heritage. From 1892 to 1954, this immigrant depot processed the greatest tide of incoming humanity in the nation’s history. Nearly twelve million landed here in their search of freedom of speech and religion, and for economic opportunity.

Today, over 40 percent of America’s population can trace their ancestry through Ellis Island.

The museum exhibits chronicle Ellis Island’s role in immigration history and view it in the context of its time and the still broader context of four centuries of immigration to America. The exhibits occupy over 40,000 sq.ft. on three floors of the Main Building; they include museum objects, photographs, prints, videos, interactive displays and oral histories. The largest exhibit is the building itself — the imposing French Renaissance Revival structure designed by Boring and Tilton, built in 1900 and restored to its 1918-1924 appearance.

A popular exhibit at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum is the American Immigrant Wall of Honor. The Wall of Honor is located outdoors, just outside the "Peopling of America" exhibit. The Wall honors America’s immigrants regardless of when they immigrated or through which port they entered. The Wall is currently inscribed with over 700,000 names.

Even if your ancestors did not come through this immigration port, a visit to the island with your family gives some sense of the gratitude that we all should feel to our forefathers for making the hard decision to start a new life in America. While the younger members of your family may bore with the old images and artifacts, a sense of history is important to the education of your family and therefore Ellis Island should be on your list of places to visit.

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