Ellis Island

The station opened in 1892 and closed in 1954, and roughly twelve million people passed through it - the great majority processed in a few hours, with about two percent turned back, usually on medical or financial grounds. The Registry Room upstairs, a vaulted hall under Guastavino tile, is where the queues stood. The museum covers the whole arc: the crossing, the inspection line, the detention wards, and the immigration politics of the period including the quota acts that eventually reduced the traffic to a trickle. The south side hospital complex, where those held for illness were treated, is largely unrestored and can be seen on a separate hard-hat tour. The passenger records are searchable on site.

What you actually see

• The Registry Room - the vaulted hall under Guastavino tile.
• The inspection process - and the roughly two percent turned back.
• The quota politics - which ended the mass traffic.
• The unrestored hospital wing - on a separate hard-hat tour.

When to go

April to October; the ferry runs year round with shorter hours. Three to four hours with the crossing.

Honest expectations

The ferry is the only access, queues are long and security screening is airport-grade. The hospital tour must be booked separately and is not always running. Combined with Liberty Island it is a full day. Ferries cancel in heavy weather.

Nearby

Liberty Island is the same ferry route; Battery Park is the Manhattan pier.