<p>In the foreground, there is a boat from Circle Line, which makes a 3-hour counterclockwise circle around Manhattan from Pier 83 on the Hudson River, as well as a boat from Statue Cruises, which took over from Circle Line as the exclusive ferry service to/from Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
</p><p>Ellis Island, for the latter parts of the 19th Century until the immigration restrictions of 1924 and beyond, was the primary entry point for Europeans who wanted a better shot at life in a new country. They were deposited here and screened before being granted entry into the US. Ellis Island is iconic because most Americans are descendants of one of the Ellis Island immigrants, rather than, say, the Pilgrims or the early English colonists. Ellis Island closed in 1954, and re-opened as a museum in 1990.
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These buildings toward the south of Ellis Island housed hospital wards and clinics for immigrants who had health issues or diseases. Unlike the main hall, which was restored for the 1990 re-opening, these buildings remain closed and unrestored. However, the abandoned interior of one of these buildings served as a great setting in 2004, when my favorite hometown singer-songwriter, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/skinnylawyer/sets/72157625537550451/">Anna Nalick</a>, needed to do a photo shoot for her debut album <i>Wreck of the Day</i>, paying homage to her Russian grandmother who immigrated through here and worked the Broadway theaters afterwards.
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/people/56619626@N05">InSapphoWeTrust</a> from Los Angeles, California, USA
CC BY-SA 2.0
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/skinnylawyer/7208224926/">Ellis Island from Staten Island Ferry</a>