Existing comment:
Registry Room Views:
Perhaps no other place in America conjures up as strong an image of the immigration experience as does this hall. The Registry Room on Ellis Island marked a great divide in the lives of millions of immigrants who had completed one long journey and were about to undertake another. This was their first stop in America.
While the enormous arched windows evoked the spirit of America's 19th Century railroad stations -– the principal gateways of our cities -– the Registry Room's floor plan accommodated the practical business of inspecting and sending immigrant travelers on their various ways. Ellis Island officials periodically rearranged the floor plan to guide the flow of humanity more efficiently or, in later years, to serve other purposes. Iron piped alleys and wire cages gradually gave way to wooden benches and open spaces.
Here are five photographs taken from this end of the balcony, showing how the Registry Room changed over the years. For the opposite point of view, see a similar display of photographs on the other side of the balcony. |