Page 79 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

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the Holocaust. The collection 6 Ellis Island
begins with the rituals and
practicalities of everyday Eastern Map A5. q 4, 5 to Bowling Green;
European Jewish life pre-1930, 1, R to Whitehall/South Ferry, then
and moves on to the horrors of Statue Cruises from the Battery.
Departures: every 30–45 mins
the Holocaust, ending with the 9:30am–3:30pm (starts 8:30am in
establishment of Israel. summer). Tel (877) 523-9849.
Open Jul–Aug: 9am–6pm daily; Sep–
Jun: 9:30am–5:15pm daily. Closed
4 Governors Island Dec 25. & ferry fare includes entry to
Ellis and Liberty Is. 7 8 9 0 -
Map A5. q South Ferry, Bowling ∑ nps. gov/elis; ∑ statue
Green. Open late May–late Sep:
10am–6pm Mon–Fri, 10am–7pm Sat cruises.com
& Sun. ∑ govisland.com
Almost 40 percent of America’s
With its village greens and population can trace its roots
colonial halls reminiscent of a Statue of Liberty, an enduring symbol of to Ellis Island, which served
college campus, this 172-acre New York as the country’s immigration
(70-ha) island in New York Harbor depot from 1892 until 1954.
makes for a great day-trip. been the symbol of freedom for Nearly 17 million people
Between 1794 and 1966, the millions since her inauguration passed through its gates in the
US Army occupied the island, by President Grover Cleveland greatest wave of immigration
and it was the US Coast Guard’s in 1886. A gift from the French the world has ever known.
largest base for the next thirty to the American people to mark First- and second-class
years. Since 2003, the island has the US centennial in 1876, the passengers were processed
been shared between the city statue was the brainchild of on board, but steerage
and the National Park Service. sculptor Frédéric-Auguste passengers were ferried from
On the north-west corner of Bartholdi. In Emma Lazarus’s arrival vessels and taken for
the island, Castle Williams was poem, which is engraved on medical and legal exami nations.
built in 1811 to complement the the base, Lady Liberty says: Ellis Island lay in ruins until
near-identical Castle Clinton in “Give me your tired, your poor, / 1990, when a $189 million
Battery Park. Used as a prison Your huddled masses yearning project by the Statue of Liberty–
until 1966, its cramped cells to breathe free.” Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.,
held up to 1,000 Confederate The 305-ft- (93-m-) high renewed the buildings.
soldiers during the Civil War. statue stands on a pedestal Centered on the Great Hall
The island has plenty of green set within the walls of an old or Registry Room, the site
spaces, ideal for relaxing in on army fort. In one hand Liberty today houses the three-story
sunny days and a breezy prom en- holds the new torch, with a Ellis Island Immigration
ade. Along with a visitors’ center, 24-carat gold-leaf flame, while Museum with permanent
there is an artificial beach and a in the other is a book inscribed exhibits. Much of its story is
small museum, plus a program of July 4, 1776, in Latin. The rays told with photos and the
festivals, exhibitions and events. of her crown represent voices of immigrants, and an
the seven seas and seven electronic database traces
continents. The crown was ancestors. Outside, the
5 Statue of Liberty closed to the public following American Immigrant Wall of
the September 11 attacks, but Honor is the largest wall of
Map A5. Liberty Island. q 1, R to S reopened in 2009. Groups of names in the world. No other
Ferry; 4, 5 to Bowling Green. @ M6, 10 people at a time can now
M15 to S Ferry, then Statue Cruises place explains so well the
from the Battery every 30–45 mins, climb up the 377 steps from “melting pot” that formed the
9:30am–3:30pm (starts 8:30am in the main lobby to this level. character of the nation.
summer). & time pass required.
Tel (877) 523-9849 for reservation
or book online. ∑ statuecruises.
com Open Jul–Aug: 9am– 6pm
daily; Sep–Jun: 9:30am–5pm daily.
Closed Dec 25. Ferry fare includes
entry to Ellis & Liberty Is. 7 elevator
to the top of the pedestal; additional
cost for crown access. - =
∑ nps.gov/stli
The figure presiding over
New York harbor, titled “Liberty
Enlightening the World,” has Main building, Ellis Island, viewed from the water

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