Ellis Island museum doubles immigration database in $100M renovation

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by: Emily Rahhal

Posted: Mar 28, 2024 / 11:48 AM EDT

Updated: Mar 28, 2024 / 11:55 AM EDT

NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) – Ellis Island, first an immigration hub and now a historic archive, will now be transformed once again and its museum expanded to include millions more familial records, organizers announced Thursday.

The Ellis Island National Immigration Museum’s database will more than double in size to include 154 million searchable documents from ports of entry from across the United States – so millions more visitors can discover history like when members of their family arrived in the country and where they were headed. 

It’s part of a complete renovation and expansion, kicking off in 2024, that will preserve the 125-year-old historic landmark and add multimedia exhibits, new public spaces and guided tours to the museum. 

“The emotional journey of unearthing and connecting to family history has long been at the core of the Ellis Island experience,” said a representative of the project, a collaboration between the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, National Park Service and Ellis Island. “The expanded Records Discovery Center will allow millions more to participate in this genealogical exploration.”

In the new museum space, visitors will take a three-story journey through immigration before, during and after Ellis Island’s operation from 1892 to 1954. The experience will include artifacts, maps, models, murals, films and mixed-media and temporary exhibitions. Self-guided tours for people of all ages will come included with visitors’ ferry tickets. 

The $100 million project is expected to be complete in 2026, organizers said.

“Ellis Island was the gateway to the American Dream for millions of immigrants in search of a better life in the United States for themselves and their descendants,” said  John Piltzecker, superintendent of the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island.

And in the museum’s “discovery center,” soon to be larger with new exhibits and technology, visitors can leaf through millions of documents to find their family history. 

What can you find there?

The Ellis Island Museum currently has over 65 million Port of New York arrival records from 1820 to 1957, which can include a person’s name, age, date of arrival, ship name, birthplace, last residence and final destination.

The archives also include lists of what was on ships arriving, detention records, images, and plane arrival information from the 1930s to 1950s which includes similar identifying information. 

The database is accessible online and at the Ellis Island Museum.

Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter from Los Angeles who has covered local news for years. She has been with PIX11 since 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter.

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