Special Exhibits
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STATUE OF LIBERTY NATIONAL MONUMENT AND ELLIS ISLAND
CURRENT EXHIBITS Library Hall - Third Floor So I Come to America: Detroit Pre-World War I Immigrants Between 1890 and 1914, tens of millions of people left their homes to make new lives in the United States. Thousands of these immigrants settled in the city of Detroit, Michigan. Between 1980 and 1983, Robert Gordon, a professor and Library Director at Siena Heights University in Michigan, photographed and interviewed 50 Detroit-area pre-World War I immigrants. All but 3 of these entered the U.S. through Ellis Island. Many of them were from the Russian, Austro-Hungarian, German, and Ottoman Empires. This exhibit consists of 15 of Gordon's portrait photographs featuring immigrants from Central Europe along with excerpts from his oral histories. Dormitory Galleries - Third Floor 
Victoria Scott Original Avoiron model of the Statue of Liberty - 48" high "Liberty Uncrated: Hidden Treasures from the Collections" In 1885, the Statue of Liberty, which had been built and fully assembled in Paris, France, was disassembled and packed into 214 crates for the trip to America. The disassembled Statue sailed into New York Harbor aboard the French naval ship Isère on June 19, 1885, where she was met with tremendous fanfare and a naval parade. Since the pedestal upon which the Statue would stand was not yet complete, the crates containing the individual pieces of the Statue were stored in sheds for nearly a year, until at last, in 1886, the construction crews were ready to uncrate and reassemble her. The completed Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was dedicated on October 28, 1886. In celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, the Statue will be "uncrated" once again. Museum staff members at the Statue of Liberty National Monument have selected items from the museum collection, many of which have never been exhibited or have not been on exhibit in many years. These items are examples of the numerous objects protected and preserved in museum storage areas on Ellis Island. They include a wide variety of items depicting the Statue of Liberty, from paintings and photographs to souvenirs and toys. In the 125 years that the Statue of Liberty has stood in New York Harbor, her image has become part of the cultural fabric of the United States and, indeed, of the world. This exhibition is organized by the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island. UPCOMING EXHIBITS: Dormitory Galleries - Third Floor Merika: Emigration from Central Europe to America 1880-1914 At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, more than 3 million people emigrated from Austria-Hungary to the United States, and most of them passed through Ellis Island. The aim of this exhibition is to show the background of this great exodus, how the emigrants traveled, and their new lives in America - as well as focus on individual stories of a few chosen immigrants. Short films of interviews with emigrants who left Austria-Hungary in the 20th century will be included in the exhibit. The exhibition is organized by the City Museum of Rijeka, Republic of Croatia. The Stilled Passage: A Photographic Journey through Ellis Island's Un-Restored Buildings This exhibition of color photographs by photographer Philip Calabria, is intended to introduce the museum visitor to the beauty, mystery and evocative scenes that reside within the unrestored buildings of Ellis Island. Using both artificial and natural light, the photographs capture the varying surfaces inside the buildings that mark time, weather and the presence of the many lives that passed through them. The goal of the exhibit is to engage visitors in the metaphor, drama and emotional richness of these spaces and enable them to leave with a greater understanding and appreciation of Ellis Island beyond the public areas. The exhibit is organized by Philip Calabria, Chair, Visual Arts Program, Northfield Mount Hermon School; the Northfield Mount Hermon School. |
Did You Know?
Although Ellis Island is federal property and has always been historically considered in New York, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1998 determined that part of the island was territory of New York while most of the island, which was added after 1834, is within the territory of New Jersey.