Ellis Island ferry building opens as museum
Closed for more than half a century, a 73-year-old building on Ellis Island's long-abandoned south side opened to the public [April 2] after a seven-year restoration.
Twelve million immigrants passed through the art deco Ferry Building, built in 1934 by the Public Works Administration before the Ellis Island Immigration Station shut down in 1954. Now, after a $6.4 million project funded by a 1999 Save America's Treasures matching grant of $1,145,975, the restored Ferry Building is a museum.
"We won’t just be opening the building; we will be premiering the exhibit, which focuses on the hospital and the larger Ellis Island stories," says Judy McAlpin, president of the nonprofit Save Ellis Island.
The Ferry Building is located on the part of Ellis Island that is owned by New Jersey, which also helped fund the restoration. Two-thirds of the immigrants who passed through Ellis Island took ferries to New Jersey from the Ferry Building, and the rest went to Manhattan.
Read entire article at Preservation Online
Twelve million immigrants passed through the art deco Ferry Building, built in 1934 by the Public Works Administration before the Ellis Island Immigration Station shut down in 1954. Now, after a $6.4 million project funded by a 1999 Save America's Treasures matching grant of $1,145,975, the restored Ferry Building is a museum.
"We won’t just be opening the building; we will be premiering the exhibit, which focuses on the hospital and the larger Ellis Island stories," says Judy McAlpin, president of the nonprofit Save Ellis Island.
The Ferry Building is located on the part of Ellis Island that is owned by New Jersey, which also helped fund the restoration. Two-thirds of the immigrants who passed through Ellis Island took ferries to New Jersey from the Ferry Building, and the rest went to Manhattan.