Visit 2: Ellis Island

From 1892-1924, Ellis Island served as one of the busiest immigration centers in America servicing over 12 million immigrants. Although today, it no longer serves it original purpose, visitors to Ellis Island  can still experience the stories and deep history around the millions that traveled through the Island of both hope and tears (Information from here)

“Now, do you think that Ellis Island is “Island of Hopes” or “Island of Tears”? When I visited Ellis Island, the most memorable part of the museum was the documentary film Island of Hope, Island of Tears. This very short film was touching, and phenomenal from a historical point of view. The representation of how immigrants entered U.S. was amazingly done, while the inclusion of archival footage of many immigrants’ stories made the whole experience unique… Although, it is hard to answer whether it was the Island of Hope or the Island of Tears without experiencing the same thing, there is no denying the fact that Ellis Island was the island that had changed many people’s lives.”-Jon Sobirov

“Ellis Island can be seen as a sort of purgatory. From the Russian Jew fleeing the Czar’s pogrom, to the Sicilian Italian looking to escape abject poverty, Ellis island may have been seen as the last obstacle before paradise. Ellis Island was the place were they wash off the stain of their old lives and begin anew…Both views of America as a heaven or as a hell are incongruous with the experiences of the immigrants. Several interesting immigrant testimonials displayed at several exhibitions at Ellis Island tell a story of something in between… The best way to sum it all up to conclude that no story is just bad or good,  nice or mean, heaven or hell,  but a complex mixture of push and pull resulting in what we call history.”- Mark Campmier