Ellis Island occupies a physical and emotional location no other historic site can match. Ellis Island provides multiple lenses on culture, race, memory and history, through which an American drama of passage, uncertainty and optimism can be better understood.
Ellis Island is hauntingly beautiful. The architecture is magnificent, the views are unparalleled, and the history is palpable. It is the center of global immigration in the harbor of one of the world’s iconic cities. It is a timeless place that personally touches all of us, because all of us have an immigration story.