Ellis Island, USA

Ellis Island is a gateway to the dreams of immigrants from all over the world who set out to find their fortune. Some 12 million people have left their homelands from this immigration crossing point, and today one-third of Americans can trace their family tree from this island.

The island is located in Hudson County, New Jersey, in the Upper Bay of New York. It is named for the wealthy Wells merchant, Samuel Ellis, who purchased it in the mid-18th century.  Ellis Island was one of the first islands with European settlers. Known for the large amount of shells in the waters around it, the island was a popular picnic spot. Samuel Ellis made some improvements to the island and tried to sell it in 1785.Over the years, soil was brought over from the mainland and it increased from 12 to 50 acres.

In 1808, Ellis Island was purchased by the American government. In 1890, it decided to build an immigration crossing here. Opened on April 18, 1892, the new crossing received 700 immigrants on the first day, arriving by three ships. The first immigrant registered at Ellis Island was a 17-year-old Irish girl, Annie Moore, who arrived with her two brothers aboard the ship Nevada and was given a $10 gold coin by an American official. Unfortunately, the original wooden structure burns to the ground in a fire five years later. The design of the new skip station was commissioned to architects Edward Lippincott Tilton (1861-1933) and William Alciphron (1859-1937), who received a gold medal in 1897 at the Paris Exposition for this project. The new building that now houses the museum was opened in 1900.

Built in the French Renaissance style, the main building in the complex impresses with its architectural design and red bricks with limestone facing. In addition to the main building, the new complex includes a huge kitchen and dining room for about 1,000 people, a laundry, a main power station and a hospital.

Germans, French, Swiss, Belgians, Dutch, English, Poles, Hungarians and many others pass through the Ellis Island crossing point, making the arduous transatlantic journey to realize their dream. At the crossing point, immigrants were thoroughly checked by a doctor and if there was a health problem they were kept in hospital or returned to their home country. There was also a requirement for immigrants to have about $25 per person, which compared to inflation in 2015 is $600.

More than 3,000 immigrants died on Ellis Island, unable to endure the long transatlantic journey. That's why Ellis Island was sometimes called "Island of Tears." The peak year for immigration to Ellis Island was 1907, when about 1 million immigrants came here. After the Immigration Act of 1924, the only immigrants served here were war refugees and undocumented immigrants. The last immigrant to pass through Ellis Island was Norwegian merchant seaman Arne Peterson in 1954, after which the crossing was closed. During World War II, about 7 thousand captured German, Italian and Japanese soldiers passed through the island.

In 1984, a $150 million restoration and renovation of Ellis Island's buildings began. The museum's main three-story building opened to the public on September 10, 1990. The large registration hall where immigrants' papers were processed at the time looks impressive, but it was hardly so for those arriving here. Through exhibits from the peak immigration years, visitors learn about their exciting experiences. There are also three rooms in the building where film footage from that distant time can be seen.

In 2008, the museum's library was officially named the Bob Hope Memorial Library in honor of its most famous immigrants. Augustus Frederick Sherman, an immigration officer, filmed many of the immigrants trying to settle in America. Each of these portraits bears not only the spirit of the times, but also the most specific of his nationality. On May 20, 2015, the Ellis Island Immigration Museum was renamed the "Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration." This event coincided with the opening of new galleries of the Peoples of America, where a more comprehensive view of the history of American immigration is being gained.

The Wall of Honor in front of the main building contains a partial list of immigrants who passed through and processed at the registration hall.

On the south side of the island is the medical complex where over 1.2 million patients were treated. 350 babies were also born here. Closed for 60 years, the Southside Hospital Complex on Ellis Island opened to visitors after a lengthy renovation, on October 1, 2014. The ferry building has also been restored. A bridge was built between Ellis Island and Liberty Island with the Statue of Liberty, allowing easier access to both of New York's historic landmarks.

On Ellis Island scenes from famous films such as "The Godfather"-2 part (Vito Corleone emigrates through Ellis Island as a boy); the romantic comedy Hitch; X-Men. In the album "Songs from the Heart" by the famous band Celtic Woman, one of the songs is about Annie Moore - the first immigrant registered on Ellis Island.

Ellis Island is the place of the dream, where 12 million immigrants left and who had a significant part in the creation of the United States.