Travel

By JIM WEAVER
Travel Correspondent

NEW YORK CITY -- While a trip to the islands may bring to mind Hawaii or the Caribbean, there are a couple of island in New York Harbor that deserve a visit by every American.

Ellis Island and Liberty Island provide a great look at our past as a nation. They also provide some insight into our present immigration policies and the challenges they present.

Of the millions of immigrants arriving at America’s shores between 1892 and 1924, chances are pretty good they entered through Ellis Island.

There were other ports of entry, of course, but Ellis Island was by far the largest and had the most traffic, some 12 million immigrants. Ellis Island remained in operation, in one form or another, until 1954 when extensive deterioration of the buildings forced its closing. In 1976, it reopened as a museum.

What struck me most during my visit to Ellis Island was that a large part of the facility was devoted to a hospital and many of the employees with medical personnel. Much of the hospital has yet to be restored and is not open to visitors.

If you were sick when you arrived -- and many were -- you were sent to the hospital. If you did not recover quickly, you were sent back to your country of origin. Since the terrible conditions on the transatlantic ships made it easy to acquire all sorts of diseases sometimes as many as one on three people were hospitalized and countless thousands were turned back.

When passengers arrived at the Ellis Island, with all their worldly possessions with them, the first room they entered was the Baggage Room.

Here people were required to leave their belongings while it was determined if they might enter the country. Then they moved up stairs to the large Reception Hall where they waited on hard wooden benches, often all day, to be interviewed by one of 14 immigration agents assisted by interpreters who spoke seven languages.

If they were seemingly healthy, could answer a dozen or so questions to the satisfaction of the interviewer, and had a least $500 (U.S.) per person, they gained admission. Some went on to New York City, but most went to a large train station in nearby New Jersey where they caught trains for points west.

Not everyone was welcome, however. Beginning in 1875, the U.S. banned prostitutes and criminals from entering the country. The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882. Restricted as well are "lunatics" and "idiots."

By 1903 anarchists were denied admittance. A 1907 law excluded those with physical and mental defects as well as children arriving without adults.

The immigration center officially opened on Jan. 1, 1892 and 700 immigrants passed through that day, and nearly 450,000 followed follow the first year. Annie Moore, a 15 year old girl from County Cork, Ireland, is the first person admitted and received a $10 gold piece.

A literacy test introduced in the early 1920s, continued until 1952. Everyone age 16 or older must have been able to read 30 to 40 test words in their own language to gain admittance. Nearly all Asian immigrants were all banned.

In 1965 Ellis Island came under the jurisdiction of The National Park Service as part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. It opened to the public in 1976, and during this year more than 50,000 people visited. Restoration began in 1984 and the Main Reception Building was completed by 1990. Since then millions of visitors have visited Ellis Island.

Located on a 12-acre island in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States in 1886 A universal symbol of freedom and democracy, it was designated as a National Monument in 1924 and restored for its centennial in 1986.

French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to design a sculpture to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence in 1876. The American people were to build the pedestal.

However, lack of funds was a problem on both sides of the Atlantic. In fact, the statue was not a popular project in the U.S. and contributions were few until newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer (noted for the Pulitzer Prize) devoted space on the editorial pages of his newspaper, The World, to support the fund raising effort.

A centennial gift that was 10 years late, dedication of the Statue of Liberty took place in 1886 before thousands of spectators. Almost since the beginning there has been a dispute between the states of New York and New Jersey on who owned Liberty Island. (In a compromise, the land is New Jersey and the water around it is New York.)

In 1933, the care and administration of the National Monument was transferred to the National Park Service. Four years later jurisdiction was enlarged to encompass all of what as eventually named Liberty Island.

In 1982 fundraising began for the $86 million restoration of the statue under a public/private partnership between the National Park Service and the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. The newly restored statue opened to the public on July 5, 1986

Since Sept. 11, 2001, visitors have had access only to the statue’s pedestal observation deck, promenade, museum and areas. Access to the crown of the statue and the copper structure itself remains closed.

Approximately 5 million people from all over the world visit our nation’s monument to freedom. It should be on everyone’s must do list.

Both Ellis and Liberty Islands are accessible via the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Ferry from Battery Park in lower Manhattan, or Liberty State Park, New Jersey.

New Jersey has smaller crowds and is the easier way to visit. Take the New Jersey Turnpike to Exit 14B, and follow signs to Liberty State Park and the ferry service. There is ample parking at the park for a nominal fee.

Both Liberty Island and Ellis Island are open every day of the year except Christmas Day. Hours are 9:30 a.m.- 5 p.m., with extended hours in the summer.

For up to date ferry schedules and costs call 877-523-9849 or click link www.statuecruises.com

Hoping to find a place of their own in America, newly arrived immigrants line up at Ellis Island in the early part of the 20th century.
(Courtesy Photo)