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The
name Ellis Island is familiar to many Americans who have tried to trace the
paths of the ancestors during their immigration to the New World. Ellis
Island was the primary inspection station from 1892 to 1954. During that
period newcomers would be housed at the facility for varying periods of
time, often facing a bewildering set of questions and health checks. One can
only imagine the tears of joy and sadness as people passed through the halls
and offices.
As
the years passed and more immigrants began to arrive by plane rather than by
ship, Ellis Island became less important. Finally, in 1954 the decision was
made to close the facility. The doors were locked, with most of the contents
of the buildings left inside, and the island was left sitting quietly in New
York Harbor. Instead of anxious immigrants, the only visitors to Ellis
Island were politicians, real estate speculators - and vandals.
Once a showplace for new arrivals, Ellis Island spiraled downward into an
amazing state of decay. The buildings were already old by then and suffering from the New York weather.
If that wasn't bad enough, they were
further ravaged by miscreants who smashed windows, tore holes in
the walls, ripped plumbing from the walls and seemingly threw everything
that wasn't nailed down into piles of decaying refuse throughout the
facility.
Finally, in 1976, as part of the nation's bicentennial celebration, Ellis
Island was re-opened to visitors on a limited basis. Approximately 50,000
people a year toured the decaying ruins - a small number when you consider
that each of the Disney theme parks does more business than that in a single
day. Following a $150 million dollar restoration, Ellis Island re-opened
once again in 1990, this time with several of the buildings restored to their
original grandeur. More than 2 million people now follow in the footsteps of
the crowds that had passed through these halls so many years ago.
About these photos: They were taken on a tour of Ellis Island in August,
1983. It was a bizarre experience, for as I walked through the buildings
there were piles and piles of chairs, tables, typewriters, file cabinets and
ledgers seemingly everywhere. I remember thinking that only the government
could have walked away from all of this and not even bothered to sell it at
a salvage sale or just give it away. Some sections of the island were too
dangerous to enter, and a look through the windows of some of those
buildings showed plants and moss growing on even larger piles of refuse.
I remember this
being a tough place to photograph as it was a gloomy day, there was very
little light inside the buildings, and I didn't have a flash unit with me.
To make things worse, the original slides taken back in 1983 have suffered
badly over the years. I generally only used Kodak film, and have tried to
store my slides and negatives properly, but for some reason this roll looks
particularly horrible today. The colors have all shifted and the images are
very dark. The sample images on this page are the best I could do with
Photoshop under the circumstances.
I
haven't been able to get back to see the island since it was restored, but
I am glad I did manage to see it in the years it sat waiting for its rebirth.
I feel lucky to have seen the island in a ruined state, as it was a unique
experience indeed. The pictures can't convey how quiet the once bustling
facility was, with only the sound of the wind and dripping water filling the
buildings where thousands once waited to get started on their new lives.
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The main
building's Registry Hall, also known as the Great Hall.
The small size of
the tour group shows how little interest there was in touring Ellis
Island at that time. |
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Over the
years some of the plaster had fallen away from the walls, revealing
the stonework underneath. There had also been some rather messy work
down over the years, such as a large electrical box and exposed cable
to the right of the stonework. |
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In a tapestry of
destruction and ruin, this light fixture in the Registry Hall was a
very unexpected sight indeed. One can only surmise that it survived
simply because it was inaccessible due to its height.
The intricate tiled
ceiling was added in 1917. It was the best preserved feature on the
island. |
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Ancient medical
equipment stood rusting in the island's hospital. There were racks of
old beds, dozens of enameled basins and, as seen in the corner of the
photo, some rather uncomfortable looking wheelchairs. |
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An empty cash
register and old ledger books sit on a shelf in the ticket office.
This is where those who had passed all of their tests would buy
tickets for transportation to the mainland and points elsewhere.
It's hard to see in this
size of the picture but there's a key hanging just above the cash
register, still there more than 30 years after the place was closed.
The whole island was full of little touches like this. |
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I believe
this is a view of the room where luggage was stored as the immigrants
were being processed. Most of the plaster ceiling had fallen over the
years. While the floor had been cleaned in this area, fallen plaster
in other areas had become the bed for numerous plants. |
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Outside, the
final remains of the island's ferry boat lay disintegrating in its
slip. What had been a fully operational ship had been allowed to rot
away until it finally just sunk where it was docked. |
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Photos and text Copyrighted by Bill Cotter. All rights reserved. No
duplication without advance written permission.
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