Editing Ellis Island (section)

==History==

===Precolonial and colonial use===
The present-day Ellis Island was created by retreating glaciers at the end of the [[Wisconsin glaciation]] about 15,000 years ago. The island was described as a "hummock along a plain fronting the west side of the Hudson River estuary,"<ref name="Stakely p. 13">{{harvnb|Stakely|2003|ps=.|p=13}}</ref> and when the glaciers melted, the water of the [[Upper New York Bay]] surrounded the mass.<ref name="Stakely p. 13" /> The native [[Mohegan]] name for the island was "Kioshk", meaning "Gull Island",<ref name="Stakely p. 21">{{harvnb|Stakely|2003|ps=.|p=21}}</ref><ref name="JSTOR Daily 2017">{{cite web |url=https://daily.jstor.org/the-curious-history-of-ellis-island/ |title=The Curious History of Ellis Island |date=December 1, 2016 |website=JSTOR Daily |access-date=June 4, 2019 |archive-date=June 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604180931/https://daily.jstor.org/the-curious-history-of-ellis-island/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="AMNY-Facts">{{Cite web |url=https://www.amny.com/news/ellis-island-facts-about-the-immigration-center-and-beyond-1.12781876 |title=Fascinating facts about Ellis Island |date=December 20, 2016 |website=am New York |access-date=June 4, 2019 |archive-date=June 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604180932/https://www.amny.com/news/ellis-island-facts-about-the-immigration-center-and-beyond-1.12781876 |url-status=live }}</ref> in reference to Ellis Island's former large population of [[seagull]]s.<ref name="Stakely p. 21" /> Kioshk was composed mostly of marshy, brackish lowlands that disappeared underwater at [[Tide|high tide]].<ref name="Stakely p. 13" /> The Native American tribes who lived nearby are presumed to have been [[hunter-gatherer]]s who used the island to hunt for fish and oysters, as well as to build transient hunting and fishing communities there.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island EIS|2005|p=67}}</ref><ref name="Stakely p. 14">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=14}}</ref> It is unlikely that the Native Americans established permanent settlements on Kioshk, since the island would have been submerged at high tide.<ref name="Stakely p. 14" />

In 1630, the Dutch bought Kioshk as a gift for [[Michael Reyniersz Pauw]],{{efn|Also Paaw or Paauw<ref name="Stakely p. 14" /><ref name="EI-EIS p. 3" />}} who had helped found [[New Netherland]].<ref name="Stakely p. 14" /><ref name="EI-EIS p. 3">{{harvnb|Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island EIS|2005|ps=.|p=3}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Belle|Finegold|1988|ps=.|p=10}}</ref> When the Dutch settled the area as part of [[New Netherland]], the three islands in Upper New York Bay—Liberty, Black Tom, and Ellis Islands—were given the name [[Oyster]] Islands, alluding to the large oyster population nearby. The present-day Ellis Island was thus called "Little Oyster Island",<ref name="Kurlansky 2007 p. 35" /><ref name="nyt20060301" /><ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 10">{{harvnb|Robins|Urbanelli|1993|ps=.|p=10}}</ref> a name that persisted through at least the early 1700s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stainsby |first=W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NGI9AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA5 |title=The Oyster Industry of New Jersey |publisher=Unionist-Gazette Association, State Printers |location=Somerville, NJ |year=1902 |series=Monographs on New Jersey's industries |page=5 |access-date=June 4, 2019}}</ref>{{efn|The name "Little Oyster Island" persisted even though Ellis Island was larger than the former Black Tom Island.<ref name="Kurlansky 2007 p. 35" /><ref name="nyt20060301" /><ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 10" /> By comparison, the comparatively large Liberty Island was called "Great Oyster Island".<ref name="Kurlansky 2007 p. 35" /><ref name="Stakely p. 13" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Levine |first=Alexandra S. |date=May 10, 2016 |title=New York Today: The Big Oyster |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/nyregion/new-york-today-the-big-oyster.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/nyregion/new-york-today-the-big-oyster.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited |access-date=June 4, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>}} Little Oyster Island was then sold to Captain William Dyre {{Circa|1674}},{{efn|The sale may have happened as late as 1680.<ref name="Stakely p. 14" />}} then to Thomas Lloyd on April 23, 1686.<ref name="Moreno (2004) p. xii">{{harvnb|ps=.|Moreno|2004|p=xii}}</ref><ref name="Stakely p. 14" /> The island was then sold several more times,<ref name="Moreno (2004) p. xii" /> including to Enoch and Mary Story.<ref name="Stakely p. 14" /> During colonial times, Little Oyster Island became a popular spot for hosting oyster roasts, picnics, and clambakes because of its rich oyster beds. Evidence of recreational uses on the island was visible by the mid-18th century with the addition of commercial buildings to the northeast shore.<ref name="Stakely p. 14" /><ref>{{Cite book |title=Ellis Island Coming to the Land of Liberty |last=Bial |first=Raymond |location=New York |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-618-99943-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ellisislandcomin0000bial/page/12 12] |url=https://archive.org/details/ellisislandcomin0000bial}}</ref>

By the 1760s, Little Oyster Island became a public execution site for pirates, with executions occurring at one tree in particular, the "Gibbet Tree".<ref name="AMNY-Facts" /><ref name="Ellis Island Foundation, 2000">{{cite web |url=http://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/ellis-timeline#1900 |title=Ellis Island Timeline |date=May 20, 2015 |website=The Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Foundation |access-date=December 11, 2019 |archive-date=December 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213021047/https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/ellis-timeline#1900 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="JSTOR Daily 2017" /> However, there is scant evidence that this was common practice.<ref name="Stakely p. 14" /> Little Oyster Island was acquired by Samuel Ellis, a colonial New Yorker and merchant from [[Wrexham]], Wales, in 1774; the island was ultimately named for him.<ref name="Moreno (2004) p. 72">{{harvnb|ps=.|Moreno|2004|p=72}}</ref> He unsuccessfully attempted to sell the island nine years later.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Market Book. Containing a Historical Account of the Public Markets in the Cities of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn. With a Brief Description of Every Article of Human Food Sold Therein |url=https://archive.org/details/marketbookconta00voegoog |publisher=Author |last=De Voe |first=T.F. |year=1862 |page=[https://archive.org/details/marketbookconta00voegoog/page/n321 315] |access-date=June 4, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Stakely p. 16">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=16}}</ref> Ellis died in 1794,<ref name="Moreno (2004) p. 72" /><ref name="Stakely p. 16" /><ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/elis/learn/historyculture/ellis-island-chronology.htm |title=Ellis Island Chronology |website=Ellis Island Part of Statue of Liberty National Monument |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=June 4, 2019 |archive-date=June 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190615144909/https://www.nps.gov/elis/learn/historyculture/ellis-island-chronology.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and as per his will, the ownership of Ellis Island passed to his daughter Catherine Westervelt's unborn son, who was also named Samuel. When the junior Samuel died shortly after birth, ownership passed to the senior Samuel's other two daughters, Elizabeth Ryerson and Rachel Cooder.<ref name="Stakely p. 16" /><ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology" />

===Military use and Fort Gibson===
Ellis Island was also used by the military for almost 80 years.<ref name="NPS-places_colonial_early_american">{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/elis/learn/historyculture/places_colonial_early_american.htm |title=Colonial and Early American New York |date=February 26, 2015 |website=Ellis Island Part of Statue of Liberty National Monument |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=June 4, 2019 |archive-date=June 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614215632/https://www.nps.gov/elis/learn/historyculture/places_colonial_early_american.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> By the mid-1790s, as a result of the United States' increased military tensions with Britain and France, a U.S. congressional committee drew a map of possible locations for the [[First System]] of fortifications to protect major American urban centers such as New York Harbor.<ref>{{cite book |last=Novak |first=Liza |date=July 21, 2010 |url=https://archive.org/stream/culturallandscap10nati#page/n1/mode/2up |title=Cultural Landscape Report for Governors Island National Monument |publisher=[[United States Department of the Interior]], [[National Park Service]] |page=30 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>{{sfn|Smith|1913|p=54}}A small part of Ellis Island from "the soil from high to low waters mark around Ellis's Island" was owned by the city. On April 21, 1794, the city deeded that land to the state for public defense purposes.<ref name="Stakely p. 16" /><ref name="GPO-1963">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XapGAQAAIAAJ |title=United States Congressional serial set |author=United States Congress |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |year=1963 |access-date=June 4, 2019 |issue=v. 12532}}</ref> The following year, the state allotted $100,000 for fortifications on Bedloe's, Ellis, and [[Governors Island]]s,<ref name="Stakely p. 16" /> as well as the construction of [[Castle Clinton|Castle Garden]] (now Castle Clinton<ref>{{cite web |title=History & Culture |website=Castle Clinton National Monument |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |date=March 24, 2010 |url=https://www.nps.gov/cacl/learn/historyculture/index.htm |access-date=January 6, 2020 |archive-date=August 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815012434/https://www.nps.gov/cacl/learn/historyculture/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>) along [[The Battery (Manhattan)|the Battery]] on Manhattan island.<ref name="Stakely p. 16" /> Batteries and magazines were built on Ellis Island in preparation for a war.<ref>{{cite book |title=American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive, of the Congress of the United States |publisher=Gales and Seaton |year=1832 |url=https://archive.org/details/americanstatepap_e01unit |series=Volume 1, Military Affairs |page=[https://archive.org/details/americanstatepap_e01unit/page/193 193] |access-date=June 4, 2019}}</ref> A [[jetty]] was added to the northwestern extremity of the island, possibly from soil excavated from an inlet at the northeastern corner; the inlet was infilled by 1813.<ref name="Stakely p. 16" /> Though the military threat never materialized, further preparations were made in the late 1790s, when the [[Quasi War]] sparked fears of war with France;<ref name="Stakely p. 16" /><ref name="HSR Main p. 11">{{harvnb|ps=.|Belle|Finegold|1988|p=11}}</ref> these new preparations were supervised by [[Ebenezer Stevens]].<ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology" />{{sfn|Smith|1913|pp=153–154}} The military conflict also failed to occur, and by 1805, the fort had become rundown.<ref name="Stakely p. 18">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=18}}</ref>

Stevens, who observed that the Ellis family still owned most of the island, suggested selling off the land to the federal government.<ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology" /> Samuel Ryerson, one of Samuel Ellis's grandsons, deeded the island to John A. Berry in 1806.<ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology" /><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Moreno|2004|p=xxii}}</ref><ref name="GPO-1963" /> The remaining portion of the island was acquired by condemnation the next year, and it was ceded to the United States on June 30, 1808, for $10,000.<ref name="NPS-places_colonial_early_american" /><ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology" /><ref name="HSR Main p. 11" /><ref name="Logan-McCarten" /> Lieutenant Colonel [[Jonathan Williams (engineer)|Jonathan Williams]], placed in charge of New York Harbor defenses in the early 1800s, proposed several new fortifications around the harbor as part of the [[Seacoast defense in the United States#Second system|Second System]] of fortifications. The new fortifications included increased firepower and improved weaponry.{{sfn|Smith|1913|pp=55–56}}<ref name="HSR Main p. 11" /> The [[United States Department of War|War Department]] established a circular stone 14-gun [[Artillery battery|battery]], a mortar battery (possibly of six mortars), [[Magazine (artillery)|magazine]], and [[barracks]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wade |first1=Arthur P. |title=Artillerists and Engineers: The Beginnings of American Seacoast Fortifications, 1794–1815 |publisher=CDSG Press |year=2011 |page=243 |isbn=978-0-9748167-2-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Fort Gibson |website=New York Division of Military and Naval Affairs |url=http://dmna.state.ny.us/forts/fortsE_L/gibsonFort.htm |access-date=June 3, 2019 |date=October 1, 2002 |archive-date=October 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019190829/http://dmna.state.ny.us/forts/fortsE_L/gibsonFort.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=New York Forts: page 6 |website=North American Forts |url=http://www.northamericanforts.com/East/nycity2.html#gibson |access-date=June 3, 2019 |archive-date=April 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402070314/https://www.northamericanforts.com/East/nycity2.html#gibson |url-status=live }}</ref> The fort was initially called Crown Fort, but by the end of the [[War of 1812]] the battery was named Fort Gibson, in honor of Colonel James Gibson of the 4th Regiment of Riflemen, who was killed in the war during the [[Siege of Fort Erie]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Robert B. |title=Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States |publisher=Macmillan |year=1988 |pages=554–555 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-02-926880-3}}</ref><ref name="NPS-places_colonial_early_american" /> The fort was not used in combat during the war, and instead served as a barracks for the [[11th Infantry Regiment (United States)#War of 1812|11th Regiment]], as well as a jail for British prisoners of war.<ref name="Stakely p. 18" />
[[File:(King1893NYC) pg087 ELLIS-ISLAND IMMIGRANT STATION.jpg|thumb|right|Ellis Island buildings circa 1893]]

Immediately after the end of the War of 1812, Fort Gibson was largely used as a recruiting depot. The fort went into decline due to under-use, and it was being jointly administered by the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] and [[United States Navy|Navy]] by the mid-1830s.<ref name="Stakely p. 18" /> Around this time, in 1834, the extant portions of Ellis Island was declared to be an exclave of New York within the waters of New Jersey.<ref name="nyt19980527" /><ref name="HSR Main p. 11" /><ref name="Stakely p. 18" /> The era of joint administration was short-lived: the Army took over the fort's administration in 1841, demoted the fort to an artillery battery, and stopped [[garrison]]ing the fort, leaving a small Navy guard outside the magazine. By 1854, Battery Gibson contained an 11-gun battery, three naval magazines, a short railroad line, and several auxiliary structures such as a [[cookhouse]], gun carriage house, and officers' quarters.<ref name="Stakely p. 19">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=19}}</ref> The Army continued to maintain the fort until 1860, when it abandoned the weapons at Battery Gibson.<ref name="HSR Main p. 11" /><ref name="nyt18860509" /> The artillery magazine was expanded in 1861, during the [[American Civil War]], and part of the parapet was removed.<ref name="Stakely p. 19" />

At the end of the Civil War, the fort declined again, this time to an extent that the weaponry was rendered unusable.<ref name="Stakely p. 19" /> Through the 1870s, the Navy built additional buildings for its artillery magazine on Ellis Island,<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=20}}</ref> eventually constructing 11 buildings in total.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1889/10/20/archives/an-island-of-explosives-where-the-navy-stores-its-gunpowder-big.html |title=An Island of Explosives; Where the Navy Stores Its Gunpowder. Big Magazines on Ellis Island in New-York Bay—Precautions Against Accidental Explosions. |date=October 20, 1889 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 5, 2019 |archive-date=June 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605150016/https://www.nytimes.com/1889/10/20/archives/an-island-of-explosives-where-the-navy-stores-its-gunpowder-big.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Complaints about the island's magazines started to form, and by the 1870s, ''The New York Sun'' was publishing "alarming reports" about the magazines.<ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology" /> The guns were ordered removed in 1881, and the island passed under the complete control of the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance.<ref name="nyt18860509">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1886/05/09/archives/the-story-of-ellis-island-interesting-incidents-of-life-in-a.html |title=The Story of Ellis Island.; Interesting Incidents of Life in a Government Powder Magazine. |date=May 9, 1886 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 5, 2019 |archive-date=June 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605150022/https://www.nytimes.com/1886/05/09/archives/the-story-of-ellis-island-interesting-incidents-of-life-in-a.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===First immigration station===
[[File:JudgeMagazine22Mar1890.jpg|thumb|right|upright|190px|Anti-immigrant cartoon expressing opposition to the construction of Ellis Island (''[[Judge (magazine)|Judge]]'', March 22, 1890)<br />''"Mr. Windom, if you are going to make this island a garbage heap, I am returning to France"'']]
The Army had unsuccessfully attempted to use Ellis Island "for the convalescence for immigrants" as early as 1847.<ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology" /> Across New York Harbor, [[Castle Clinton]] had been used as an immigration station since 1855, processing more than eight million immigrants during that time.<ref name="NPS-places_immigration">{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/elis/learn/historyculture/places_immigration.htm |title=Immigration |date=December 17, 1900 |website=Ellis Island Part of Statue of Liberty National Monument |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=June 5, 2019 |archive-date=May 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501173252/https://www.nps.gov/elis/learn/historyculture/places_immigration.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/battery-park/history |title=The Battery Highlights: NYC Parks |date=June 26, 1939 |website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation |access-date=June 5, 2019 |archive-date=November 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091129170108/http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=7712 |url-status=live }}</ref> The individual states had their own varying immigration laws until 1875, but the federal government regarded Castle Clinton as having "varied charges of mismanagement, abuse of immigrants, and evasion of the laws", and as such, wanted it to be completely replaced.<ref name="Stakely p. 27">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=27}}</ref> The federal government assumed control of immigration in early 1890 and commissioned a study to determine the best place for the new immigration station in New York Harbor.<ref name="Stakely p. 27" /> Among members of the [[United States Congress]], there were disputes about whether to build the station on Ellis, Governors, or Liberty Islands. Initially, Liberty Island was selected as the site for the immigration station,<ref name="Stakely p. 27" /> but due to opposition for immigration stations on both Liberty and Governors Islands, the committee eventually decided to build the station on Ellis Island.{{Efn|The opposition to an immigration station on Liberty Island stemmed from the fact that the [[Statue of Liberty]] would be built there, while Governors Island was still an active military fort.<ref name="Stakely p. 28" />}}<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1890/03/25/archives/in-favor-of-ellis-island-uncle-sam-and-the-immigration-problem-the.html |title=In Favor of Ellis Island; Uncle Sam and the Immigration Problem |date=March 25, 1890 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 5, 2019 |archive-date=June 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605150023/https://www.nytimes.com/1890/03/25/archives/in-favor-of-ellis-island-uncle-sam-and-the-immigration-problem-the.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Since Castle Clinton's lease was about to expire, Congress approved a bill to build an immigration station on Ellis Island.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1187989/ |title=Ellis Island for the Immigrants |date=April 6, 1890 |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=1 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref>

On April 11, 1890, the federal government ordered the magazine at Ellis Island be torn down to make way for the U.S.'s first federal immigration station at the site.<ref name="EI-EIS p. 3" /> The [[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of the Treasury]], which was in charge of constructing federal buildings in the U.S.,<ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 142">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|Urbanelli|1993|p=14}}</ref> officially took control of the island that May 24.<ref name="Stakely p. 28">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=28}}</ref> Congress initially allotted $75,000 ({{inflation|index=US|value=75000|start_year=1890|fmt=eq|r=-3}}) to construct the station and later doubled that appropriation.<ref name="NPS-Fact-Sheet" /><ref name="Stakely p. 28" /> While the building was under construction, the Barge Office at the Battery was used for immigrant processing.<ref name="HSR Main p. 12">{{harvnb|ps=.|Belle|Finegold|1988|p=12}}</ref> During construction, most of the old Battery Gibson buildings were demolished, and Ellis Island's land size was almost doubled to {{cvt|6|acre|ha}}.<ref name="Ralph1891">{{cite magazine |last=Ralph |first=Julian |year=1891 |title=Landing the Immigrant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zkJaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA821 |magazine=Harper's Weekly |series=Library of American civilization |volume=35 |page=821 |access-date=June 5, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 142" /> The main structure was a two-story structure of [[Pinus palustris|Georgia Pine]],<ref name="HSR Main p. 12" /><ref name="EI-EIS p. 5">{{harvnb|ps=.|Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island EIS|2005|p=5}}</ref> which was described in ''[[Harper's Weekly]]'' as "a latterday watering place hotel" measuring {{cvt|400|by|150|ft|m}}.<ref name="Ralph1891" /> Its outbuildings included a hospital, detention building, laundry building, and utility plant that were all made of wood. Some of the former stone magazine structures were reused for utilities and offices. Additionally, a [[ferry slip]] with [[Breakwater (structure)|breakwater]] was built to the south of Ellis Island.<ref name="HSR Main p. 12" /><ref name="Ralph1891" /><ref name="EI-EIS p. 5" /> Following further expansion, the island measured {{cvt|11|acre|ha}} by the end of 1892.<ref name="Stakely p. 28" />
[[File:Ellis Island First Bldg Burnt 15-June-1897.jpg|thumb|left|First Ellis Island Immigrant Station, built in 1892 and destroyed 1897]]

The station opened on January 1, 1892,<ref name="Ellis Island Foundation, 2000" /><ref name="EI-EIS p. 5" /><ref name="nyt18920102">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1892/01/02/archives/landed-on-ellis-island-new-immigration-buildings-opened-yesterday-a.html |title=Landed on Ellis Island; New Immigration Buildings Opened Yesterday |date=January 2, 1892 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 5, 2019 |archive-date=June 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605150021/https://www.nytimes.com/1892/01/02/archives/landed-on-ellis-island-new-immigration-buildings-opened-yesterday-a.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The First to Land |date=January 2, 1892 |work=Democrat and Chronicle |location=Rochester, NY |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24069185/newspaper_article_about_the_first_group/ |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=1 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607003611/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24069185/newspaper_article_about_the_first_group/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and its first immigrant was [[Annie Moore (immigrant)|Annie Moore]], a 17-year-old girl from [[Cork (city)|Cork]], Ireland, who was traveling with her two brothers to meet their parents in the U.S.<ref name="AMNY-Facts" /><ref name="nyt18920102" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ellisisland.org/search/passRecord.asp?pID=604534030002&MID=02806987110023700416& |title=Passenger Record: Annie Moore |work=The Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation |access-date=April 24, 2013 |archive-date=May 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521072930/http://www.ellisisland.org/search/passRecord.asp?pID=604534030002&MID=02806987110023700416& |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5194366/ |title=First Foot on Ellis Island |date=January 2, 1892 |work=New York Sun |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=2 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref> On the first day, almost 700 immigrants passed over the docks.<ref name="Stakely p. 28" /> Over the next year, over 400,000 immigrants were processed at the station.{{Efn|The cited figures may run as high as 480,000.<ref name="NYTimes-Stats-1893" />}}<ref name="HSR Main p. 13">{{harvnb|ps=.|Belle|Finegold|1988|p=13}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes-Stats-1893">{{Cite news |title=Immigrants of a Year.; Some Statistics from Landing Agent Moore of Ellis Island |date=January 1, 1893 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1893/01/01/archives/immigrants-of-a-year-some-statistics-from-landing-agent-moore-of.html |access-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606001109/https://www.nytimes.com/1893/01/01/archives/immigrants-of-a-year-some-statistics-from-landing-agent-moore-of.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The processing procedure included a [[#Inspection lines|series of medical and mental inspection lines]], and through this process, some 1% of potential immigrants were deported.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gateway of the Continent |date=January 5, 1896 |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20781025/ |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=9 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref> Additional building improvements took place throughout the mid-1890s,<ref name="Stakely p. 29">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=29}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32294070/ |title=Ellis Island's Crowds |date=April 17, 1896 |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=7 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1896/08/20/archives/improvements-at-ellis-island.html |title=Improvements at Ellis Island |date=August 20, 1896 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606001108/https://www.nytimes.com/1896/08/20/archives/improvements-at-ellis-island.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and Ellis Island was expanded to {{cvt|14|acre|ha}} by 1896. The last improvements, which entailed the installation of underwater telephone and telegraph cables to Governors Island, were completed in early June 1897.<ref name="Stakely p. 29" /> On June 15, 1897, the wooden structures on Ellis Island were razed in a fire of unknown origin. While there were no casualties, the wooden buildings had completely burned down after two hours, and all immigration records from 1855 had been destroyed.<ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology" /><ref name="HSR Main p. 13" /><ref name="Stakely p. 29" /><ref>{{Cite news |title=Fire on Ellis Island; It Broke Out Shortly After Midnight in the Furnace of the Main Building |date=June 15, 1897 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1897/06/15/archives/fire-on-ellis-island-it-broke-out-shortly-after-midnight-in-the.html |access-date=March 22, 2018 |archive-date=March 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322082149/https://www.nytimes.com/1897/06/15/archives/fire-on-ellis-island-it-broke-out-shortly-after-midnight-in-the.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Over five years of operation, the station had processed 1.5&nbsp;million immigrants.<ref name="HSR Main p. 13" /><ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 142" />

===Second immigration station===

====Design and construction====
Following the fire, passenger arrivals were again processed at the Barge Office, which was soon unable to handle the large volume of immigrants.<ref name="NPS-places_immigration" /><ref name="Stakely p. 322" /><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Unrau|1984b|pp=215–216}}</ref> Within three days of the fire, the federal government made plans to build a new, fireproof immigration station.<ref name="NPS-places_immigration" /><ref name="Stakely p. 322">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=32}}</ref> Legislation to rebuild the station was approved on June 30, 1897,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1897/06/30/archives/to-restore-ellis-island-action-taken-by-the-treasury-department-and.html |title=To Restore Ellis Island; Action Taken by The Treasury Department and Congress. |date=June 30, 1897 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606004124/https://www.nytimes.com/1897/06/30/archives/to-restore-ellis-island-action-taken-by-the-treasury-department-and.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and appropriations were made in mid-July.<ref name="Stakely p. 37">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=37}}</ref> By September, the Treasury's [[Office of the Supervising Architect for the U.S. Treasury|Supervising Architect]], [[James Knox Taylor]], opened an architecture competition to rebuild the immigration station.<ref name="Stakely p. 37" /> The competition was the second to be conducted under the [[Tarsney Act]] of 1893, which had permitted private architects to design federal buildings, rather than government architects in the Supervising Architect's office.<ref name="HSR Main p. 13" /><ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 15">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|Urbanelli|1993|p=15}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lee |first=Antoinette J. |title=Architects to the Nation: The Rise and Decline of the Supervising Architect's Office |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-19-535186-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hjDZz87NF8AC&pg=PA197 |access-date=December 11, 2019 |page=197}}</ref> The contest rules specified that a "main building with annexes" and a "hospital building", both made of fireproof materials, should be part of each nomination.<ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 15" /> Furthermore, the buildings had to be able to host a daily average of 1,000 and maximum of 4,000 immigrants.<ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 16">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|Urbanelli|1993|p=16}}</ref>[[File:Ellis Island in 1905.jpg|thumb|Second Ellis Island Immigration Station (opened 1900) as seen in 1905|alt= |left]]Several prominent architectural firms filed proposals,<ref name="Stakely p. 37" /><ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 16" /><ref name="n32307207">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32307207/ |title=New Landing Station |date=March 6, 1898 |work=New York World |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=11 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref> and by December, it was announced that [[Edward Lippincott Tilton]] and [[William A. Boring]] had won the competition.<ref name="HSR Main p. 13" /><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1897/12/08/archives/ellis-island-plans-accepted.html |title=Ellis Island Plans Accepted |date=December 8, 1897 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606004122/https://www.nytimes.com/1897/12/08/archives/ellis-island-plans-accepted.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Tilton and Boring's plan called for four new structures: a main building in the [[French Renaissance architecture|French Renaissance]] style, as well as the kitchen/laundry building, powerhouse, and the [[Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital|main hospital building]].<ref name="Stakely p. 37" /><ref name="n32307207" /><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mausolf |first1=Lisa B. |title=Edward Lippincott Tilton: A Monograph on His Architectural Practice |url=https://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/publications/documents/etilton_monograph.pdf |year=2007 |access-date=September 28, 2011 |last2=Hengen |first2=Elizabeth Durfee |archive-date=June 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609173440/https://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/publications/documents/etilton_monograph.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nyt18980128">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1898/01/28/archives/a-palace-for-immigrants-new-york-design-for-the-new-buildings-of.html |title=A Palace for Immigrants; New York Design for the New Buildings of the Ellis Island Station Accepted |date=January 28, 1898 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606142650/https://www.nytimes.com/1898/01/28/archives/a-palace-for-immigrants-new-york-design-for-the-new-buildings-of.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The plan also included the creation of a new island called island 2, upon which the hospital would be built, south of the existing island (now Ellis Island's north side).<ref name="Stakely p. 37" /><ref name="n32307207" /> A construction contract was awarded to the R. H. Hood Company in August 1898, with the expectation that construction would be completed within a year,<ref name="Stakely pp. 38-39">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|pp=38–39}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y4_xrl_Y4h8C&pg=PA787-IA1 |title=Bulletin of the Department of Labor |author=United States. Department of Labor |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |year=1899 |page=787–IA1 |access-date=June 6, 2019 |issue=v. 14–19 |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329133235/https://books.google.com/books?id=y4_xrl_Y4h8C&pg=PA787-IA1#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32307907/ |title=Contract Let To R.H. Hood |date=August 13, 1898 |work=Brooklyn Standard-Union |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=1 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329133208/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-contract-let-to-rh/32307907/ |url-status=live }}</ref> but the project encountered delays because of various obstacles and disagreements between the federal government and the Hood Company.<ref name="Stakely pp. 38-39" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32307857/ |title=Queer Management |date=June 5, 1899 |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=16 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329133237/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-queer-managemen/32307857/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A separate contract to build the {{cvt|3.33|acre|ha|adj=on}} island 2 had to be approved by the War Department because it was in New Jersey's waters; that contract was completed in December 1898.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=42}}</ref> The construction costs ultimately totaled $1.5&nbsp;million.<ref name="EI-EIS p. 5" />

====Early expansions====
[[File:Arriving at Ellis Island LCCN2014710704.jpg|thumb|[[European emigration|European immigrants]] arriving at Ellis Island, 1915]]
The new immigration station opened on December 17, 1900, without ceremony. On that day, 2,251 immigrants were processed.<ref name="HSR Main p. 13" /><ref name="n32308238">{{cite news |title=Again at Ellis Island |date=December 17, 1900 |work=New-York Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32308238/ |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=3 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329133319/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-again-at-ellis-island/32308238/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Stakely p. 40">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=40}}</ref> Almost immediately, additional projects commenced to improve the main structure, including an entrance canopy, baggage conveyor, and railroad ticket office. The kitchen/laundry and powerhouse started construction in May 1900 and were completed by the end of 1901.<ref name="Stakely p. 40" /><ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 37">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|Urbanelli|1993|p=37}}</ref> A ferry house was also built between islands 1 and 2 {{Circa|1901}}.<ref name="Stakely p. 44" /> The hospital, originally slated to be opened in 1899, was not completed until November 1901, mainly due to various funding delays and construction disputes.<ref name="Stakely p. 43">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=43}}</ref> The facilities proved barely able to handle the flood of immigrants that arrived, and as early as 1903, immigrants had to remain in their transatlantic boats for several days due to inspection backlogs.<ref name="HSR Main p. 15">{{harvnb|ps=.|Belle|Finegold|1988|p=15}}</ref><ref name="Stakely p. 41" /> Several wooden buildings were erected by 1903, including waiting rooms and a 700-bed barracks,<ref name="Stakely p. 41">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=41}}</ref> and by 1904, over a million dollars' worth of improvements were proposed.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/01/16/archives/million-for-ellis-island-secretary-of-commerce-asks-that-sum-for.html |title=Million for Ellis Island; Secretary of Commerce Asks That Sum for Extensive Improvements. |date=January 16, 1904 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-date=August 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818064501/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/01/16/archives/million-for-ellis-island-secretary-of-commerce-asks-that-sum-for.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The hospital was expanded from 125 to 250 beds in February 1907, and a new psychopathic ward debuted in November of the same year. Also constructed was an administration building adjacent to the hospital.<ref name="Stakely p. 44">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=44}}</ref><ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 25">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|Urbanelli|1993|p=25}}</ref>

Immigration commissioner [[William Williams (commissioner)|William Williams]] made substantial changes to Ellis Island's operations, and during his tenure from 1902 to 1905 and 1909–1913, Ellis Island processed its peak number of immigrants.<ref name="HSR Main p. 15" /> Williams also made changes to the island's appearance, adding plants and grading paths upon the once-barren landscape of Ellis Island.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|pp=45–46}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Ellis Island Improved; Commissioner Williams's Pleasing Landscape Gardening |date=July 12, 1903 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/07/12/archives/ellis-island-improved-commissioner-williamss-pleasing-landscape.html |access-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607023943/https://www.nytimes.com/1903/07/12/archives/ellis-island-improved-commissioner-williamss-pleasing-landscape.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Under Williams's supervision, a {{cvt|4.75|acre|ha|adj=on}} third island was built to accommodate a proposed contagious-diseases ward, separated from existing facilities by {{cvt|200|ft|m}} of water.<ref name="Stakely pp. 48–49">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|pp=48–49}}</ref><ref name="EI-EIS p. 5" /><ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 25" /> Island 3, as it was called, was located to the south of island 2 and separated from that island by a now-infilled ferry basin.<ref name="EI-EIS p. 5" /> The government bought the underwater area for island 3 from New Jersey in 1904,<ref name="Stakely pp. 48–49" /><ref>{{Cite news |title=New Island in the Bay; Government Buys Plot Under Water Adjoining Ellis Island |date=December 18, 1904 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/12/18/archives/new-island-in-the-bay-government-buys-plot-under-water-adjoining.html |access-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607013657/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/12/18/archives/new-island-in-the-bay-government-buys-plot-under-water-adjoining.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and a contract was awarded in April 1905.<ref name="Stakely pp. 48–49" /> The islands were all connected via a cribwalk on their western sides (later covered with wood canopy), giving Ellis Island an overall "E"-shape.<ref name="NPS-Map" /><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|Urbanelli|1993|p=24}}</ref> Upon the completion of island 3 in 1906, Ellis Island covered {{cvt|20.25|acre|ha}}.<ref name="Stakely p. 51">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=51}}</ref> A baggage and dormitory building was completed {{Circa|1908–1909}},<ref name="HSR Main p. 15" /><ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 25" /><ref name="Stakely p. 57">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=57|pp=57–58}}</ref> and the main hospital was expanded in 1909.<ref name="Stakely pp. 62-63">{{harvnb|Stakely|2003|ps=.|pp=62–63}}</ref> Alterations were made to the registry building and dormitories as well, but even this was insufficient to accommodate the high volume of immigrants.<ref name="HSR Main p. 162">{{harvnb|ps=.|Belle|Finegold|1988|p=16}}</ref> In 1911, Williams alleged that Congress had allocated too little for improvements to Ellis Island,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1911/07/11/archives/needs-of-ellis-island-commissioner-williams-says-congress-gives-too.html |title=Needs of Ellis Island; Commissioner Williams Says Congress Gives Too Little Money for Improvements |date=July 11, 1911 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607023846/https://www.nytimes.com/1911/07/11/archives/needs-of-ellis-island-commissioner-williams-says-congress-gives-too.html |url-status=live }}</ref> even though the improvement budget that year was $868,000.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2764047/ |title=14,500 Aliens Sent From Ellis Island |date=November 13, 1911 |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=7 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329133342/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-baggage-and-dor/2764047/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:(Inspection room, Ellis Island, New York, N.Y.) (LOC).jpg|thumb|The main building's registry room]]

Additional improvements and routine maintenance work were completed in the early 1910s.<ref name="Stakely p. 57" /><ref name="HSR Main p. 162" /> A greenhouse was built in 1910,<ref name="Stakely p. 57" /><ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 702">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|Urbanelli|1993|p=70}}</ref> and the contagious-diseases ward on island 3 opened the following June.<ref name="Stakely p. 65">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=65}}</ref><ref name="HSR Main p. 162" /> In addition, the incinerator was replaced in 1911,<ref name="Stakely pp. 62-63" /><ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 25" /> and a recreation center operated by the [[American Red Cross]] was also built on island 2 by 1915.<ref name="Stakely pp. 62-63" /><ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 702" /> These facilities generally followed the design set by Tilton and Boring.<ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 25" /> When the [[Black Tom explosion]] occurred on Black Tom Island in 1916, the complex suffered moderate damage; though all immigrants were evacuated safely, the main building's roof collapsed, and windows were broken. The main building's roof was replaced with a [[Guastavino tile|Guastavino-tiled]] arched ceiling by 1918.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/black-tom-wwi.htm |title=Domestic Sabotage: The Explosion at Black Tom Island |date=July 30, 1916 |website=NPS.gov Homepage |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607144540/https://www.nps.gov/articles/black-tom-wwi.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=$45,000,000 Loss From Explosion In Wide Radius |date=July 31, 1916 |work=New-York Tribune |page=3 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24361048/ |access-date=June 5, 2019 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329133245/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune/24361048/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="HSR Main p. 17">{{harvnb|ps=.|Belle|Finegold|1988|p=17}}</ref> The immigration station was temporarily closed during [[World War I]] in 1917–1919, during which the facilities were used as a jail for suspected enemy combatants, and later as a treatment center for wounded American soldiers. Immigration inspections were conducted aboard ships or at docks.<ref name="EI-EIS p. 5" /><ref name="Stakely pp. 62-63" /><ref name="nyt19180224">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1918/02/24/archives/ellis-island-war-hospital.html |title=Ellis Island War Hospital |date=February 24, 1918 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607023648/https://www.nytimes.com/1918/02/24/archives/ellis-island-war-hospital.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="HSR Main p. 17" /> During the war, immigration processing at Ellis Island declined by 97%, from 878,000 immigrants per year in 1914 to 26,000 per year in 1919.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Unrau|1984c|pp=734–735}}</ref>

Ellis Island's immigration station was reopened in 1920, and processing had rebounded to 560,000 immigrants per year by 1921.<ref name="EI-EIS p. 5" /><ref name="HSR Main p. 18">{{harvnb|ps=.|Belle|Finegold|1988|p=18}}</ref> There were still ample complaints about the inadequate condition of Ellis Island's facilities.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1920/12/06/archives/plea-to-cure-evils-at-ellis-island-enlarged-buildings-and-larger.html |title=Plea To Cure Evils At Ellis Island; Enlarged Buildings and Larger Staff Asked to Handle Immigrants |date=December 6, 1920 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607144544/https://www.nytimes.com/1920/12/06/archives/plea-to-cure-evils-at-ellis-island-enlarged-buildings-and-larger.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Getting the Right Start on the Road to Citizenship; Americanization's First Opportunity Is At Ellis Island |last=Pitney |first=Fred B. |date=August 15, 1920 |work=New-York Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32376856/ |access-date=October 7, 2022 |pages=51, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32376971/ 52] |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329133213/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-getting-the-right-start/32376856/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, despite a request for $5.6&nbsp;million in appropriations in 1921,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1921/01/15/archives/asks-5600000-for-ellis-island.html |title=Asks $5,600,000 for Ellis Island. |date=January 15, 1921 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607144536/https://www.nytimes.com/1921/01/15/archives/asks-5600000-for-ellis-island.html |url-status=live }}</ref> aid was slow to materialize, and initial improvement work was restricted to smaller projects such as the infilling of the basin between islands 2 and 3.<ref name="Stakely p. 75">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=75}}</ref><ref name="HSR Main p. 18" /> Other improvements included rearranging features such as staircases to improve pedestrian flow.<ref name="Stakely p. 75" /> These projects were supported by president [[Calvin Coolidge]], who in 1924 requested that Congress approve $300,000 in appropriations for the island.<ref name="Stakely p. 75" /><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/01/23/archives/300000-asked-for-ellis-island-president-transmits-to-congress-the.html |title=$300,000 Asked for Ellis Island; President Transmits to Congress the Budget Director's Items to Remedy Conditions. |date=January 23, 1924 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607144539/https://www.nytimes.com/1924/01/23/archives/300000-asked-for-ellis-island-president-transmits-to-congress-the.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The allocations were not received until the late 1920s.<ref name="Stakely p. 75" />

====Conversion to detention center====
[[File:Radicals awaiting deportation.jpg|thumb|right|''"[[Communism|Reds]], anarchists, [[Political radicalism|radicals]]"'' awaiting deportation, 1920]]
With the passing of the [[Emergency Quota Act]] of 1921, the number of immigrants being allowed into the United States declined greatly, ending the era of mass immigration.<ref name="history.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.history.com/topics/ellis-island |title=Ellis Island – Facts & Summary |website=History.com |access-date=November 17, 2016 |archive-date=June 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623222038/https://www.history.com/topics/ellis-island |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="EI-EIS p. 5" /><ref name="HSR Main p. 19" /> Following the [[Immigration Act of 1924]], strict immigration quotas were enacted, and Ellis Island was downgraded from a primary inspection center to an immigrant-detention center, hosting only those that were to be detained or deported (see {{Section link||Mass detentions and deportations}}).<ref name="EI-EIS p. 5" /><ref name="HSR Main p. 19">{{harvnb|ps=.|Belle|Finegold|1988|p=19}}</ref><ref name="Jaynes1985">{{Cite magazine |last=Jaynes |first=Gregory |title=American Scene: From Ellis Island to Lax |magazine=Time |date=July 8, 1985 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959576-4,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629024607/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959576-4,00.html  |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |access-date=June 11, 2019}}</ref> Final inspections were now instead conducted on board ships in New York Harbor. The [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]] further decreased immigration, as people were now discouraged from immigrating to the U.S.<ref name="HSR Main p. 19" /> Because of the resulting decline in patient counts, the hospital closed in 1930.<ref name="Forgotten">{{cite news |url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/ellis-islands-forgotten-hospital/ |title=Ellis Island's Forgotten Hospital |last=Chan |first=Sewell |date=October 26, 2011 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=December 27, 2011 |archive-date=January 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118072451/http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/ellis-islands-forgotten-hospital/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nyt19980322">{{cite web |last=Haberman |first=Clyde |title=The Other Ellis Island |website=The New York Times |date=March 22, 1998 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/22/magazine/the-other-ellis-island.html |access-date=June 11, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608221116/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/22/magazine/the-other-ellis-island.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Johnson 2007">{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/remembering-the-dark-side-of-ellis-island/ |title=Remembering The Dark Side Of Ellis Island |last=Johnson |first=Caitlin |date=June 1, 2007 |work=CBS News |access-date=June 5, 2019 |archive-date=June 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606001058/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/remembering-the-dark-side-of-ellis-island/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Edward Corsi, who himself was an immigrant, became Ellis Island commissioner in 1931 and commenced an improvement program for the island. The initial improvements were utilitarian, focusing on such aspects as sewage, incineration, and power generation.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|pp=78–79}}</ref><ref name="HSR Main pp. 20-21">{{harvnb|ps=.|Belle|Finegold|1988|pp=20–21}}</ref> In 1933, a federal committee led by the [[United States Secretary of Labor|Secretary of Labor]], [[Frances Perkins]], was established to determine what operations and facilities needed improvement.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/06/23/archives/committee-named-on-ellis-island-miss-perkins-appoints-42-to.html |title=Committee Named on Ellis Island; Miss Perkins Appoints 42 to Investigate Conditions Facing Immigrants |date=June 23, 1933 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607144537/https://www.nytimes.com/1933/06/23/archives/committee-named-on-ellis-island-miss-perkins-appoints-42-to.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The committee's report, released in 1934, suggested the construction of a new class-segregated immigration building, recreation center, ferry house, verandas, and doctors/nurses' quarters, as well as the installation of a new seawall around the island.<ref name="Stakely p. 80">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=80}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32378881/ |title=3 New Buildings To Be Erected For Ellis Island Aliens |date=April 1, 1934 |work=Daily News |location=New York |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=36 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref><ref name="Robins Urbanelli pp. 26–272">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|Urbanelli|1993|pp=26–27}}</ref> These works were undertaken using [[Public Works Administration]] funding and [[Works Progress Administration]] labor, and were completed by the late 1930s. As part of the project, the surgeon's house and recreation center were demolished,<ref name="Stakely p. 43" /><ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 702" /> and [[Edward Laning]] commissioned some murals for the island's buildings.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Unrau|1984c|pp=952–953}}</ref> Other improvements included the demolition of the greenhouse, the completion of the infilling of the basin between islands 2 and 3, and various landscaping activities such as the installation of walkways and plants.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|pp=87–88}}</ref><ref name="Robins Urbanelli pp. 26–272" /> However, because of the steep decline in immigration, the immigration building went underused for several years, and it started to deteriorate.<ref name="Stakely p. 80" /><ref name="HSR Main pp. 20-21" />

With the start of [[World War II]] in 1939, Ellis Island was again used by the military, this time being used as a [[United States Coast Guard]] base.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Unrau|1984c|pp=822–824}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/10/31/archives/ellis-island-to-get-coast-guard.html |title=Ellis Island to Get Coast Guard |date=October 31, 1939 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607144541/https://www.nytimes.com/1939/10/31/archives/ellis-island-to-get-coast-guard.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Stakely p. 83">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=83}}</ref> As during World War I, the facilities were used to detain enemy soldiers in addition to immigrants, and the hospital was used for treating injured American soldiers.<ref name="Stakely p. 83" /> So many combatants were detained at Ellis Island that administrative offices were moved to mainland Manhattan in 1943, and Ellis Island was used solely for detainment.<ref name="HSR Main pp. 20-21" /><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1943/04/11/archives/immigration-work-is-consolidated-here-ellis-island-solely-for.html |title=Immigration Work Is Consolidated Here; Ellis Island Solely for Custody of Aliens |date=April 11, 1943 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607150050/https://www.nytimes.com/1943/04/11/archives/immigration-work-is-consolidated-here-ellis-island-solely-for.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:ArnePettersenEllisIsland.jpg|thumb|Mug shot of Arne Pettersen, taken June 16, 1944{{efn|In this photograph, Pettersen's middle name is misspelled as having the initial "O", when it is actually "P".}}|190px]]

By 1947, shortly after the end of World War II, there were proposals to close Ellis Island due to the massive expenses needed for the upkeep of a relatively small detention center.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32379183/ |title=Economy Plan May Close Ellis Island |date=June 16, 1947 |work=Ithaca Journal |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=9 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref> The hospital was closed in 1950–1951 by the [[United States Public Health Service]], and by the early 1950s, there were only 30 to 40 detainees left on the island.<ref name="EI-EIS p. 5" /><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=92}}</ref><ref name="n32421643">{{cite news |title=U.S. Will Move All Ellis Island Immigration Facilities to Manhattan |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32421643/ |date=July 29, 1954 |work=Press and Sun-Bulletin |access-date=June 5, 2019 |location=Binghamton, NY |page=4 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref> The island's closure was announced in mid-1954, when the federal government announced that it would construct a replacement facility on Manhattan.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Ellis Island to Go as Alien Station; Service Now Needs Smaller Quarters |date=June 3, 1954 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/06/03/archives/ellis-island-to-go-as-alien-station-service-now-needs-smaller.html |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607235747/https://www.nytimes.com/1954/06/03/archives/ellis-island-to-go-as-alien-station-service-now-needs-smaller.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="n32421643" /> Ellis Island closed on November 12, 1954, with the departure of its last detainee, Norwegian merchant seaman [[Arne Pettersen]], who had been arrested for overstaying his shore leave.<ref name="nyt19541113">{{Cite news |title=Ellis Island Ends Alien Processing; Last Detained Person Leaves |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/11/13/archives/ellis-island-ends-alien-processing-last-detained-person-leaves.html |date=November 13, 1954 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607235745/https://www.nytimes.com/1954/11/13/archives/ellis-island-ends-alien-processing-last-detained-person-leaves.html |url-status=live }}</ref> At the time, it was estimated that the government would save $900,000 a year from closing the island.<ref name="nyt19541113" /> The ferryboat ''Ellis Island'', which had operated since 1904, stopped operating two weeks later.<ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology" /><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/11/30/archives/ellis-island-boat-makes-last-trip-after-million-miles-on-harbor-run.html |title=Ellis Island Boat Makes Last Trip After Million Miles on Harbor Run |date=November 30, 1954 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608164052/https://www.nytimes.com/1954/11/30/archives/ellis-island-boat-makes-last-trip-after-million-miles-on-harbor-run.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Post-closure===
====Initial redevelopment plans====
[[File:Ellis Island Complex.jpg|thumb|left|Seen from east. From left to right: contagious diseases ward; lawn; hospital; ferry basin; main building, kitchen, dormitory, and immigration building]]
After the immigration station closed, the buildings fell into disrepair and were abandoned,<ref name="nyt19640716">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/07/16/archives/once-teeming-ellis-island-bleak-and-crumbling-is-now-the-home-of-a.html |title=Once Teeming Ellis Island, Bleak and Crumbling, Is Now the Home of a Lone Black Dog |date=July 16, 1964 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607235746/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/07/16/archives/once-teeming-ellis-island-bleak-and-crumbling-is-now-the-home-of-a.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[General Services Administration]] (GSA) took over the island in March 1955.<ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology" /> The GSA wanted to sell off the island as "surplus property"<ref>{{cite news |title=Shrine for Sale |date=December 2, 1962 |work=Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27461272/ |location=New York |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=204 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329133902/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-wwp-key-project/27461272/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and contemplated several options, including selling the island back to the city of New York<ref>{{Cite news |title=Gift of Ellis Island To City Now Hinted |date=November 17, 1957 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/11/17/archives/gift-of-ellis-island-to-city-now-hinted-ellis-island-gift-to-city.html |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607235749/https://www.nytimes.com/1957/11/17/archives/gift-of-ellis-island-to-city-now-hinted-ellis-island-gift-to-city.html |url-status=live }}</ref> or auctioning it to a private buyer.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/09/14/archives/ellis-island-will-be-sold-at-auction-u-s-selling-haven-of-migration.html |title=Ellis Island Will Be Sold at Auction; U. S. Selling Haven of Migration Days for Private Use |last=Lawn |first=Victor H. |date=September 14, 1956 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607235750/https://www.nytimes.com/1956/09/14/archives/ellis-island-will-be-sold-at-auction-u-s-selling-haven-of-migration.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1959, real estate developer [[Sol Atlas]] unsuccessfully bid for the island, with plans to turn it into a $55&nbsp;million resort with a hotel, marina, music shell, tennis courts, swimming pools, and skating rinks.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-1958-plan-to-turn-ellis-island-into-a-vacation-resort-124287872/ |title=The 1958 Plan to Turn Ellis Island Into a Vacation Resort |last=Novak |first=Matt |date=June 18, 2012 |website=Smithsonian |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608222347/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-1958-plan-to-turn-ellis-island-into-a-vacation-resort-124287872/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Sol Atlas Dies; Builder Was 66 |date=July 31, 1973 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/07/31/archives/sol-atlas-dies-builder-was-66-expert-on-shopping-centers-also.html |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=March 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329170501/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/07/31/archives/sol-atlas-dies-builder-was-66-expert-on-shopping-centers-also.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The same year, [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] designed the $100&nbsp;million "Key Project",{{Efn|The name "Key Project" is a reference to how "the island represented the key to freedom and opportunity for so many."<ref name="Key Project 1" /><ref name="Key Project 2" />|name= |group= }} which included housing, hotels, and large domes along the edges. However, Wright died before presenting the project.<ref name="Key Project 1">{{cite web |url=https://www.metropolismag.com/architecture/how-frank-lloyd-wright-would-have-transformed-ellis-island/ |title=How Frank Lloyd Wright Would Have Transformed Ellis Island |date=July 11, 2017 |website=Metropolis |access-date=June 3, 2019 |archive-date=June 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603022758/https://www.metropolismag.com/architecture/how-frank-lloyd-wright-would-have-transformed-ellis-island/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Key Project 2">{{cite news |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/lady-liberty-meets-the-jetsons-frank-lloyd-wrights-futurist-dream-for-ellis-island |title=Lady Liberty Meets The Jetsons: Frank Lloyd Wright's Futurist Dream For Ellis Island |date=August 19, 2017 |work=The Daily Beast |access-date=June 3, 2019 |last1=McNearney |first1=Allison |archive-date=July 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731010757/https://www.thedailybeast.com/lady-liberty-meets-the-jetsons-frank-lloyd-wrights-futurist-dream-for-ellis-island |url-status=live }}</ref> Other attempts at redeveloping the site, including a college,<ref>{{Cite news |title=College Visioned for Ellis Island |last=Hechinger |first=Fred M. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/08/29/archives/college-visioned-for-ellis-island-noted-educators-plan-calls-for.html |date=August 29, 1960 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607235741/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/08/29/archives/college-visioned-for-ellis-island-noted-educators-plan-calls-for.html |url-status=live }}</ref> a [[retirement home]],<ref name="nyt19640716" /> an [[Alcoholism|alcoholics']] rehabilitation center,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/03/06/archives/ellis-island-bill-offered.html |title=Ellis Island Bill Offered |date=March 6, 1956 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607235741/https://www.nytimes.com/1956/03/06/archives/ellis-island-bill-offered.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and a [[List of World Trade Centers|world trade center]]<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1955/03/16/archives/ellis-island-trade-fair-urged-1000000-yearly-to-us-seen.html |title=Ellis Island Trade Fair Urged; $1,000,000 Yearly to U.S. Seen |date=March 16, 1955 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607235747/https://www.nytimes.com/1955/03/16/archives/ellis-island-trade-fair-urged-1000000-yearly-to-us-seen.html |url-status=live }}</ref> were all unsuccessful.<ref name="nyt19640716" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32471127/ |title=Ellis Island to Become National Historical Site |date=November 11, 1965 |work=The News |access-date=June 5, 2019 |location=Paterson, NJ |page=10 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=October 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010070116/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32471127/ellis-island-to-become-national/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1963, the Jersey City Council voted to [[Zoning|rezone]] the island's area within New Jersey for high-rise residential, monument/museum, or recreational use, though the new zoning ordinance banned "[[Coney Island]]"-style amusement parks.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Jersey City Votes Ellis Island Zoning |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/08/07/archives/jersey-city-votes-ellis-island-zoning.html |date=August 7, 1963 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608164103/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/08/07/archives/jersey-city-votes-ellis-island-zoning.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32471127/ |title=Bill Restricts Ellis Island |agency=Associated Press |date=August 17, 1963 |work=The Record |access-date=June 5, 2019 |location=Hackensack, NJ |page=36 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=October 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010070116/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32471127/ellis-island-to-become-national/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 1964, the [[National Park Service]] published a report that proposed making Ellis Island part of a [[National monument (United States)|national monument]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Ellis Island Plan Due |date=June 13, 1964 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/06/13/archives/ellis-island-plan-due.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608164056/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/06/13/archives/ellis-island-plan-due.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This idea was approved by [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]] [[Stewart Udall]] in October 1964.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 22, 1964 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/10/22/archives/udall-approves-us-park-on-ellis-island.html |title=Udall Approves U.S. Park on Ellis Island |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608164053/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/10/22/archives/udall-approves-us-park-on-ellis-island.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Ellis Island was added to the [[Statue of Liberty National Monument]] on May 11, 1965,<ref name="Proclamation 3656" /><ref name="n32471127">{{cite news |title=Ellis Island Finds Shelter With Miss Liberty |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32471127/ |last=Healy |first=Paul |date=May 12, 1965 |work=Daily News |location=New York |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=3 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=October 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010070116/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32471127/ellis-island-to-become-national/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Unrau pp. 1165-1169">{{harvnb|ps=.|Unrau|1984c|pp=1165–1169}}</ref> and that August, President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] approved the redevelopment of the island as a museum and park.<ref name="Unrau pp. 1165-1169" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 19, 1965 |title=Johnson Signs Measure To Develop Ellis Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/08/19/archives/johnson-signs-measure-to-develop-ellis-island.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608164052/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/08/19/archives/johnson-signs-measure-to-develop-ellis-island.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The initial master plan for the redevelopment of Ellis Island, designed by [[Philip Johnson]], called for the construction of the Wall, a large "stadium"-shaped monument to replace the structures on the island's northwest side, while preserving the main building and hospital.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/02/25/archives/design-unveiled-for-national-shrine-on-ellis-island-design-unveiled.html |title=Design Unveiled for National Shrine on Ellis Island |last=Friendly |first=Alfred Jr. |date=February 25, 1966 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608165648/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/02/25/archives/design-unveiled-for-national-shrine-on-ellis-island-design-unveiled.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Stakely p. 103">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=103}}</ref> However, no appropriations were immediately made, other than a $250,000 allocation for emergency repairs in 1967. By the late 1960s, the abandoned buildings were deteriorating severely.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/03/05/archives/ellis-island-at-low-point-in-its-history.html |title=Ellis Island at Low Point in Its History |last=Stevens |first=William K. |date=March 5, 1968 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608164102/https://www.nytimes.com/1968/03/05/archives/ellis-island-at-low-point-in-its-history.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32473434/ |title=Ellis Island, Once Hope for Millions, Is Now Waiting for a Handout |last=Fleysher |first=Ellen |date=July 27, 1969 |work=Daily News |location=New York |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=128 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329133740/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-ellis-island-once-hope-for-m/32473434/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Stakely p. 103" /> Johnson's plan was never implemented due to public opposition and a lack of funds.<ref name="Stakely p. 103" /> Another master plan was proposed in 1968, which called for the rehabilitation of the island's northern side and the demolition of all buildings, including the hospital, on the southern side.<ref name="Stakely pp. 105, 107">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|pp=105, 107}}</ref> The Jersey City Jobs Corpsmen started rehabilitating part of Ellis Island the same year, in accordance with this plan.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32475699/ |title=Ellis Island National Park May Become Reality in 1969 |date=February 6, 1968 |work=The News |access-date=June 5, 2019 |location=Paterson, NJ |page=17 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329133908/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-ellis-island-national-park-may/32475699/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Stakely pp. 105, 107" /> This was soon halted indefinitely because of a lack of funding.<ref name="Stakely pp. 105, 107" /> In 1970, a [[squatters]]' club called the National Economic Growth and Reconstruction Organization (NEGRO) started refurbishing buildings as part of a plan to turn the island into an addiction rehabilitation center,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/25/archives/squatters-put-life-in-to-ellis-island-ellis-island-is-given-new.html |title=Squatters Put Life Into Ellis Island |last=Carmody |first=Deirdre |date=July 25, 1970 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608164053/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/25/archives/squatters-put-life-in-to-ellis-island-ellis-island-is-given-new.html |url-status=live }}</ref> but were evicted after less than two weeks.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/02/archives/black-squatters-quit-ellis-island-groups-leader-still-hopes-for.html |title=Black Squatters Quit Ellis Island |last=Fraser |first=C. Gerald |date=August 2, 1970 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608164054/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/08/02/archives/black-squatters-quit-ellis-island-groups-leader-still-hopes-for.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Unrau pp. 1185-1186">{{harvnb|ps=.|Unrau|1984c|pp=1185–1186}}</ref> NEGRO's permit to renovate the island were ultimately terminated in 1973.<ref name="Unrau pp. 1185-1186" />

====Restoration and reopening of north side====
[[File:Things Are Prettier Up Here.jpg|left|thumb|Detail of ceiling of registry room]]
In the 1970s, the NPS started restoring the island by repairing seawalls, eliminating weeds, and building a new ferry dock.<ref name="Stakely p. 109">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=109}}</ref> Simultaneously, Peter Sammartino launched the Restore Ellis Island Committee to raise awareness and money for repairs.<ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology" /><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/11/06/archives/200-people-gather-on-ellis-island-to-open-a-drive-for-funds-to.html |title=200 People Gather on Ellis Island to Open a Drive for Funds to Restore and Refurbish |date=November 6, 1975 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608164055/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/11/06/archives/200-people-gather-on-ellis-island-to-open-a-drive-for-funds-to.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Unrau|1984c|pp=1188–1189}}</ref> The north side of the island, comprising the main building and surrounding structures, was rehabilitated and partially reopened for public tours in May 1976.<ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology" /><ref name="Stakely p. 109" /><ref>{{Cite news |title=Ellis Island Reopened, Evoking Memories |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/29/archives/ellis-island-reopened-evoking-memories-ellis-island-is-reopened.html |last=Schumach |first=Murray |date=May 29, 1976 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608164057/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/29/archives/ellis-island-reopened-evoking-memories-ellis-island-is-reopened.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="n32477397">{{cite news |title=Ellis Island set for visitors |last=Pollak |first=Michael C. |date=May 28, 1976 |work=The Record |location=Hackensack, NJ |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32477397/ |access-date=October 7, 2022 |pages=7, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32477662/ 12] |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329133912/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-ellis-island-set-for-visitors/32477397/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The plant was left unrepaired to show the visitors the extent of the deterioration.<ref name="n32477397" /> The NPS limited visits to 130 visitors per boat, or less than 75,000 visitors a year.<ref name="Stakely p. 109" /> Initially, only parts of three buildings were open to visitors. Further repairs were stymied by a lack of funding, and by 1982, the NPS was turning to private sources for funds.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32478989/ |title=Ellis Island attracting prospective developers |last=Morehouse |first=Ward III |date=February 6, 1968 |work=Central New Jersey Home News |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=5 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329133919/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-central-new-jersey-home-news-ellis-i/32478989/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In May 1982, President [[Ronald Reagan]] announced the formation of the Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Centennial Commission, led by [[Chrysler Corporation]] chair [[Lee Iacocca]] with former President [[Gerald Ford]] as honorary chairman, to raise the funds needed to complete the work.<ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32502432/ |title=Repairs due for Miss Liberty |agency=Associated Press |date=June 20, 1982 |work=Asbury Park Press |access-date=June 5, 2019 |page=3 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=October 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010070242/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32502432/repairs-due-for-miss-liberty/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/19/nyregion/notes-on-people-iacocca-to-head-drive-to-restore-landmarks.html |title=Notes on People; Iacocca to Head Drive to Restore Landmarks |last1=Krebs |first1=Albin |date=May 19, 1982 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |last2=Thomas |first2=Robert McG. Jr. |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608200935/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/19/nyregion/notes-on-people-iacocca-to-head-drive-to-restore-landmarks.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The plan for Ellis Island was to cost $128&nbsp;million,<ref name="nyt19860223">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/23/nyregion/restoring-ellis-island-bitter-dispute-over-the-future-of-a-national-shrine.html |title=Restoring Ellis Island: Bitter Dispute Over the Future of a National Shrine |last=Gottlieb |first=Martin |date=February 23, 1986 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608204650/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/23/nyregion/restoring-ellis-island-bitter-dispute-over-the-future-of-a-national-shrine.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and by the time work commenced in 1984, about $40&nbsp;million had been raised.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/24/nyregion/renovation-for-ellis-i-is-outlined.html |title=Renovation for Ellis I. Is Outlined |last=Rangel |first=Jesus |date=May 24, 1984 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608204650/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/24/nyregion/renovation-for-ellis-i-is-outlined.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Through its fundraising arm, the Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., the group eventually raised more than $350&nbsp;million in donations for the renovations of both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.{{sfn|Moreno|2000|pp=216–218}} Initial restoration plans included renovating the main building, baggage and dormitory building, and the hospital, as well as possibly adding a bandshell, restaurant, and exhibits.<ref>{{Cite news |title=For Ellis Island, a Reborn Role as a Monument |last=Bernstein |first=Richard |date=December 9, 1982 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/09/nyregion/for-ellis-island-a-reborn-role-as-a-monument.html |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608204650/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/09/nyregion/for-ellis-island-a-reborn-role-as-a-monument.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Two firms, [[Notter Finegold & Alexander]] and [[Beyer Blinder Belle]], designed the renovation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Once-neglected Ellis Island shines again |agency=Associated Press |date=July 29, 1990 |work=The Journal-News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32504963/ |access-date=June 5, 2019 |location=White Plains, NY |page=94 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329133743/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-journal-news-once-neglected-ellis-is/32504963/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In advance of the renovation, public tours ceased in 1984, and work started the following year.<ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology" /><ref name="n32809399">{{cite news |title=Ellis Island: An immigrant past, a tattered present |last=Waga |first=Phil |date=May 25, 1986 |work=The Journal News |location=White Plains, NY |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32809399/ |access-date=October 7, 2022 |pages=95, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32809340/ 99] |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329133906/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-journal-news-ellis-island-an-immigr/32809399/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As part of the restoration, the powerhouse was renovated, while the incinerator, greenhouse, and water towers were removed.<ref name="Stakely p. 111">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stakely|2003|p=111}}</ref><ref name="Robins Urbanelli p. 702" /> The kitchen/laundry and baggage/dormitory buildings were restored to their original condition while the main building was restored to its 1918–1924 appearance.<ref name="n32809399" /><ref>{{cite news |title=A monument to all who passed through |last=Stuart |first=Mark |date=June 29, 1986 |work=The Record |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32809525/ |access-date=June 5, 2019 |location=Hackensack, NJ |page=266 |via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref>

The main building opened as a museum on September 10, 1990.<ref name="nyt19900910">{{Cite news |title=Ellis Island Doors Reopening, This Time as Haven to Tourists |last=Golden |first=Tim |date=September 10, 1990 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/10/nyregion/ellis-island-doors-reopening-this-time-as-haven-to-tourists.html |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608222343/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/10/nyregion/ellis-island-doors-reopening-this-time-as-haven-to-tourists.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="n32514428">{{cite news |title=Ellis Island, 1892–1900 |last=Hosmer |first=Philip |date=September 9, 1990 |work=The Courier-News |location=Bridgewater, NJ |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32514428/ |access-date=October 7, 2022 |pages=21, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32514544/ 25] |via=newspapers.com {{open access}} |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012004215/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32514428/ellis-island-1892-1900/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island EIS|2005|p=6}}</ref> Further improvements were made after the north side's renovation was completed. The Wall of Honor, a monument to raise money for the restoration, was completed in 1990 and reconstructed starting in 1993.<ref name="nyt20190116">{{Cite news |title=N.Y. Today: A Wall That Honors Immigrants |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/16/nyregion/newyorktoday/new-york-news-wall-ellis-island.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/16/nyregion/newyorktoday/new-york-news-wall-ellis-island.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited |last=Paybarah |first=Azi |date=January 16, 2019 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Stakely p. 111" /> A research facility with online database, the American Family Immigration History Center, was opened in April 2001.<ref name="NPS-ellis-island-chronology" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sachs |first=Susan |date=April 17, 2001 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/17/nyregion/ellis-island-opens-its-web-door-passenger-lists-let-families-trace-immigrant.html |title=Ellis Island Opens Its Web Door; Passenger Lists Let Families Trace Immigrant Roots |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608230640/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/17/nyregion/ellis-island-opens-its-web-door-passenger-lists-let-families-trace-immigrant.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Subsequently, the ferry building was restored for $6.4&nbsp;million and reopened in 2007.<ref name="nyt20070402">{{Cite news |last=McGeehan |first=Patrick |date=April 2, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/02/nyregion/02ellis.html |title=Immigrants' Final Stop on Ellis Island to Reopen |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608230641/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/02/nyregion/02ellis.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The north side was temporarily closed after being damaged in [[Hurricane Sandy]] in October 2012,<ref>{{cite web |title=Statue of Liberty National Monument |url=http://www.nps.gov/stli/after-hurricane-sandy.htm |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=April 25, 2013 |archive-date=August 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807183213/http://www.nps.gov/stli/after-hurricane-sandy.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> though the island and part of the museum reopened exactly a year later, after major renovations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/10/storm-damaged_ellis_island_reopens_a_day_shy_of_sandy_anniversary.html |title=Storm-damaged Ellis Island reopens a day shy of Sandy anniversary |last=O'Brien |first=Kathleen |date=October 28, 2013 |newspaper=The Star-Ledger |access-date=November 1, 2013 |archive-date=November 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105093408/http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/10/storm-damaged_ellis_island_reopens_a_day_shy_of_sandy_anniversary.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/hurricane-sandy/ellis-island-reopens-year-sandy-article-1.1499214 |title=Ellis Island reopens one year after Sandy |last=Chinese |first=Vera |date=October 28, 2013 |newspaper=Daily News |location=New York |access-date=November 14, 2013 |archive-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110040734/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/hurricane-sandy/ellis-island-reopens-year-sandy-article-1.1499214 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/elis/planyourvisit/index.htm |title=Ellis Island: Part of Statue of Liberty National Monument NJ, NY – Plan Your Visit |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=September 25, 2014 |archive-date=October 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007224750/http://www.nps.gov/elis/planyourvisit/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2020, the island was closed temporarily due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]];<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kim|first=Allen|date=March 16, 2020|title=Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island close due to coronavirus outbreak|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/16/us/statue-liberty-ellis-island-coronavirus-trnd/index.html|access-date=August 3, 2020|website=CNN|archive-date=March 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317050151/https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/16/us/statue-liberty-ellis-island-coronavirus-trnd/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> it reopened in August 2020, initially with strict capacity limits.<ref name="News 12 - The Bronx 2020 x935">{{cite web | title=Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island partially reopen | website=News 12 – The Bronx | date=August 24, 2020 | url=https://bronx.news12.com/statue-of-liberty-ellis-island-partially-reopen-42536051 | access-date=July 8, 2023 | archive-date=July 8, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708210226/https://bronx.news12.com/statue-of-liberty-ellis-island-partially-reopen-42536051 | url-status=live }}</ref> A$100&nbsp;million renovation of the Ellis Island museum began in early 2024; the changes included a three-story exhibition space and a new "discovery center".<ref name="Rahhal 2024 c545">{{cite web | last=Rahhal | first=Emily | title=Ellis Island museum doubles immigration database in $100M renovation | website=PIX11 | date=March 28, 2024 | url=https://pix11.com/news/local-news/ellis-island-museum-doubles-family-history-database-in-100m-renovation/amp/ | access-date=March 29, 2024 | archive-date=March 29, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329134311/https://pix11.com/news/local-news/ellis-island-museum-doubles-family-history-database-in-100m-renovation/amp/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Rahmanan 2024 d845">{{cite web | last=Rahmanan | first=Anna | title=The Ellis Island Museum is getting a major 21st century upgrade | website=Time Out New York | date=March 28, 2024 | url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/the-ellis-island-museum-is-getting-a-major-21st-century-upgrade-032824 | access-date=March 29, 2024 | archive-date=March 29, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329134313/https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/the-ellis-island-museum-is-getting-a-major-21st-century-upgrade-032824 | url-status=live }}</ref> The NPS also announced plans to spend $17.7&nbsp;million on renovating the museum buildings.<ref name="Barron 2024 x008">{{cite web | last=Barron | first=James | title=The Ellis Island Museum Gets a Face-Lift | website=The New York Times | date=March 28, 2024 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/28/nyregion/ellis-island-museum-renovation.html | access-date=March 29, 2024 | archive-date=March 29, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329134456/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/28/nyregion/ellis-island-museum-renovation.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Save Ellis Island, a nonprofit organization based in New Jersey, concurrently advocated for the preservation of the hospital buildings on the island's southern end. By 2023, Save Ellis Island had raised $70&nbsp;million toward the buildings' renovation.<ref name="Martin 2023 m525">{{cite web | last=Martin | first=Julia | title=Group Works to Save the Oft-Forgotten Jersey Side of Ellis Island | website=New Jersey Monthly | date=September 20, 2023 | url=https://njmonthly.com/articles/news/group-works-to-save-the-oft-forgotten-jersey-side-of-ellis-island/ | access-date=April 13, 2024}}</ref>