NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Foundation Document Overview
Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island
New Jersey and New York
Contact Information
For more information about the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island Foundation Document,
contact: [email protected] or (212) 363-3200 or write to:
Superintendent, Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island, Liberty Island, New York, NY 10004
Purpose
The purpose of Statue of Liberty
NatioNaL MoNuMeNt aNd eLLiS iSLaNd
is to preserve, protect, and interpret
these national and international
symbols of freedom and migration
and to promote understanding,
reflection, and discussion about the
meanings of liberty and opportunity.
Significance
Significance statements express why Statue of Liberty National
Monument and Ellis Island resources and values are important
enough to merit national park unit designation. Statements of
significance describe why an area is important within a global,
national, regional, and systemwide context. These statements
are linked to the purpose of the park unit, and are supported by
data, research, and consensus. Significance statements describe
the distinctive nature of the park and inform management
decisions, focusing efforts on preserving and protecting the
most important resources and values of the park unit.
• The statue “Liberty Enlightening the World” is one of the
world’s most recognized icons. She endures as a highly
potent symbol inspiring contemplation of such ideas as
liberty, freedom for all people, human rights, democracy,
and opportunity. As a gift from the people of France to
the people of the United States, the Statue commemorates
friendship, democratic government, and the abolition
of slavery. Her design, an important technological
achievement of its time, continues to represent a bridge
between art and engineering.
• Ellis Island is the preeminent example of a government
immigration and public health operation, the busiest and
largest of its time. The “island of hope, island of tears”
now symbolizes the American story of immigration,
the cultural richness of the United States, and the
contribution of immigrants to U.S. society.
Fundamental Resources and Values
Fundamental resources and values are those features, systems,
processes, experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, smells, or
other attributes determined to merit primary consideration
during planning and management processes because they are
essential to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining
its significance.
• Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island
• Ellis Island
• Collections, Archives, and Oral Histories
• The Immigrant’s Experience at the Gateway to
America
• Views and Vistas
• Opportunity for Dialogue
• Symbolism of the Statue of Liberty
• Continuing Connections between Immigrant Families
and Ellis Island
Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island
contains other resources and values that may not be
fundamental to the purpose and significance of the park,
but are important to consider in management and planning
decisions. These are referred to as other important resources
and values.
• Archeological Resources
• Liberty Island Administration Building and
Concession Buildings
Interpretive Themes
Interpretive themes are often described as the key stories
or concepts that visitors should understand after visiting
a park—they define the most important ideas or concepts
communicated to visitors about a park unit. Themes
are derived from—and should reflect—park purpose,
significance, resources, and values. The set of interpretive
themes is complete when it provides the structure necessary
for park staff to develop opportunities for visitors to explore
and relate to all of the park significances and fundamental
resources and values.
• Symbol and Reality. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis
Island represent ideals of liberty, freedom, economic
opportunity, and national identity, but there is inherent
tension between this symbolism and the reality of
applying those ideals in a democratic society.
• Engineering and Architecture. The Statue of Liberty
represents high achievement in fine art and engineering;
Ellis Island’s buildings illustrate some of the most
sophisticated styles of their time, meant to impress
and awe while providing state-of-the-art facilities for
immigrant processing and public health.
• Immigration. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
together speak to the global stories of human migration,
the American history of immigration, and the role of
immigration in building the United States.
Description
Liberty
Island
Ellis
Island
Statue
of Liberty
National
Monument
Ferry tickets
Ferry tickets
Governors Island
National Monument
Liberty State Park
Battery
Park
Railroad Terminal
Castle Clinton
National
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EAST RIVER
HUDSON
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NEW JERSEY
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North
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0.5 Mile
Statue of Liberty National Monument
Located on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, the Statue of
Liberty (Statue) was presented to the American people in 1886
by the Franco-American Union to commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the independence of the United States. The
brainchild of French scholar Édouard de Laboulaye, the Statue’s
principal designers were French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste
Bartholdi and French engineer Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel.
American architect Richard Morris Hunt designed the pedestal.
In 1877, Congress authorized acceptance of the sculpture as a
commemorative monument of art, and President Ulysses S. Grant
designated Bedloe’s Island (now Liberty Island) as the permanent
site for the Statue. Its design and construction were recognized at
the time as one of the greatest technical achievements of the 19th
century and hailed as a bridge between art and engineering.
The Statue was completed in France in July 1884 and arrived in
350 pieces in New York in June 1885 on board the French frigate
Isère. Construction of the granite pedestal within Fort Wood
on Bedloe’s Island was completed in April 1886. The Statue was
reassembled on her new pedestal in four months and dedicated
on October 28, 1886, in front of thousands of spectators.
Administration of the Statue fell under the United States Light-
House Board from 1886 until 1902, when it was transferred to
the U.S. Army. President Calvin Coolidge declared the Statue
of Liberty and its pedestal a national monument in 1924. The
National Park Service took over the administration of the
monument in 1933 and the remainder of the island in 1937.
Ellis Island
Purchased by the federal government in
1808, Ellis Island was approved as a site for
fortifications, making the island part of the
harbor defense system that included Castle
Clinton at Battery Park in Lower Manhattan,
Castle Williams and Fort Jay on Governors
Island, Fort Wood on Bedloe’s Island (now
Liberty Island), and two earthworks forts at the
entrance to New York Harbor at the Verrazano
Narrows. The War Department established a
20-gun battery, magazine, and barracks at the
island and named it Fort Gibson. In 1861, Fort
Gibson was dismantled and a naval magazine
and supply depot was set up in its place.
In 1890, Ellis Island was selected as the site for
the new federally operated immigration station
for the Port of New York. The facility opened
on January 1, 1892.
In June 1897, the original immigration facilities were
consumed by fire and new structures were constructed. The
facility opened on December 17, 1900. The original 3.5-acre
island was increased to 10 acres from 1890 to 1892. Island
Two, containing hospital wards and an administration
building, was developed to 3 acres in 1898. A third island
(Island Three) comprising 5 acres was added between 1905
and 1906 with additional hospital facilities for patients
requiring contagious disease isolation.
During World War I, the island served as an internment
center. The hospital was used by the War Department
for wounded servicemen. During World War II, the
facility again served as a detention center and as a U.S.
Coast Guard training site. Changing immigration policies
following the war reduced the number of immigrants
and the need for the immigration center. In total, from
1892 to 1954, the U.S. Immigration Service examined
approximately 12 million immigrants before allowing them
into the United States.
In 1965, Ellis Island was declared part of the Statue of
Liberty National Monument.
