Visiting Ellis Island

Figure 1: Ellis Island. Taken from https://www.palinc.com/project-experience/ellis-island

Most people visit the famous Independence Hall to study and experience how the United States gained its independence. However, American history is more than its independence–it involves how immigrants arrived in the United States in search of new homes. Therefore, Ellis Island is another historical site every American should visit to experience the history of immigration. This site offers educative information about how and why most people left their home countries to seek better opportunities in the United States. Visitors can only access Ellis Island by boarding a ferry at Battery Park in Manhattan. The joy of visiting the island starts immediately after a visitor boards a ferry because the 15 minutes ride makes visitors curious as they approach this destination. The first thing to see after alighting from the ferry is the Ellis Island Immigration building, constructed using renaissance architectural styles. It offers an entrance to the Ellis immigration museum. Inside the museum, visitors have access immigration area, medical examination rooms, and luggage room used to serve immigrants between 1892 and 1924. Medical examination rooms hold information about people who were denied access to the United States due to diseases. The immigration area has pictures and passports of immigrants who passed through the island. Also, the luggage room displays some of the commodities foreigners carried to the United States. Apart from seeing the physical components of the Ellis Island museum, visitors, especially non-native Americans, have the opportunity to experience what their ancestors went through in their journey to America. The island evokes memories of hope experienced by American ancestors who later served selflessly to make America great. Surprisingly, visitors do not pay anything to access Ellis Island–they only buy ferry tickets at $24.00. Ellis Island is open to the public on all days except Thanksgiving and Christmas days. Also, no private boats are allowed to access the island. Hence, visitors should only buy tickets from Statue City Cruises.