Immigration History

The Angel Island Immigration Station, once known as the “Ellis Island of the West,” is reopening after a multimillion-dollar restoration of the historical landmark.

A seldom seen film clip from the year 1898 taken by one of the pioneer photographers with the Edison Film Manufacturing Company. Needless to say, as the big immigrant-packed ships from Europe pulled into New York harbor, this statue and the remarkable skyline of the city are what they would remember for the rest of their days.

Silent footage made by the Biograph Company depicting scenes at the Immigration Depot and a nearby dock on Ellis Island. Appears to show, first, a group of immigrants lined up to board a vessel leaving the island, then another group arriving at the island and being directed off of the dock and into the Depot by a uniformed official.

Haunting images of the crumbling Ellis Island with voice over narration by those who had passed through it.

This documentary was made in 1974 by Phil Buehler and Steve Siegel, who were seniors in high school and members of the Young Filmmakers Foundation’s Film Club.

A segment from a longer documentary showing assorted clips and black and white images from the early Twentieth century of European immigrants on Ellis Island. The narration includes the aged, accented voices of those who had arrived at the island as children so many decades earlier, recalling their family’s elation for having at last arrived.