Ellis Island

A fire destroyed the original wooden immigration station building in 1897. The building that stands today opened in 1900. Until 1954, it was home to the largest federal immigration station in the US, supporting one of the greatest mass migrations in human history. In the 1980s, the station’s main building was restored and reopened as the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration.

The area where the boats docked (the slip), is protected from the winds and waves of the harbor by the island itself. In 1901, a ferry building was constructed for passengers of the ferryboat “Ellis Island.” Along with employees and supplies, this ferry transported recently admitted immigrants who were bound for New York City. The current Ferry Building was erected in 1935.

Once off the ferry and through the doors of the Main Immigration Building, the new arrivals’ first stop was the Baggage Master’s Room. Here they were instructed to check their belongings. With thousands of people passing through every day, imagine what a challenge it must’ve been to keep track of everything!

The cavernous Registry Room, aka the Great Hall, is where new arrivals were processed. Thousands of immigrants passed through this hall daily: On April 17, 1907, its busiest day, 11,747 immigrants were processed. Though the space was modified over the years to meet ever-changing needs, it has been restored to look as it would have during the period of 1918-1924.

Positioned at a high desk, U.S. immigrant inspectors consulted each ship’s official passenger list, or Manifest of Alien Passengers. They questioned each arrival, checking the answers given against whatever was recorded in the manifest at the port of departure.

About 10% of the people arriving at Ellis Island were detained for a legal hearing to decide whether they would be granted entry into the country. Immigrants might be detained if they were thought likely to become public charges, or if they were contract laborers (meaning their passage had been paid in exchange for future labor). Typically 3 or 4 Special Inquiry Boards were in session each day.

Detained immigrants sat in benches such as this one during their Special Inquiry Board Hearing. Many more benches would have been needed, as each board saw 50 to 100 cases per day.

Though most immigrants spent only a few hours being processed on Ellis Island, some 20% were required to stay overnight until their cases cleared. Before 1908, many of the detained immigrants were lodged in large dormitory rooms on either side of the balcony: one for men, the other for women and children.

In 1908, the balcony dormitories were subdivided into 14 rooms, as they have been restored to appear today. Later, separate dormitory buildings were constructed on the island.