Ellis Island, New York City: How to Visit and What to Do Nearby

Ellis Island sits in New York Harbor roughly 1.6 kilometers from Manhattan’s southern tip, the primary U.S. immigration processing station from 1892 to 1954. Roughly 12 million immigrants passed through during that period—40 percent of all Americans can trace ancestry to someone processed here. The Great Hall, a 60-meter-long vaulted room with Guastavino tile ceilings, is where immigrants waited for legal and medical inspections. The American Immigrant Wall of Honor lists over 775,000 names, and the island is accessible by the same ferry that serves the Statue of Liberty. is just one of many options in New York City. Major attractions worth considering include Apollo Theater, Central Park, and Chrysler Building.