After a false start on a very wet day we finally made it to Ellis Island on a beautiful summer afternoon. It was very busy but most people were out enjoying the sunshine. This is the Great Hall where new immigrants (the poor ones - the rich ones had a different system) between 1892-1924 awaited assessment for their suitability to enter the country. This area is up a flight of stairs - getting up the stairs was part of the 'medical' and here people were examined and either sent on to continue the process or referred for further examination. It must have been a very stressful process - I can't imagine how you would cope if one of your children was pulled out and sent for further tests. They seemed to be particularly keen on checking that children were of sound mind - mostly the children passed the non-verbal tests - the initial confusion no doubt being due to all of the foreign languages being spoken around them, combined with exhaustion from the voyage. It struck me that in fact there was a lot of compassion shown with several chances to appeal if you were to be sent back and the translators 'reinterpreting' people's answers to be what the inspectors wanted to hear. The main reasons for failing the entry tests were trachoma, late stage TB, inability to support yourself (terrible photos of weary old women) and criminality. About 1% of those arriving were sent home - I think I may have opted to jump overboard than to be sent back to a pogrom in Lithuania. We also visited the Tenement Museum in Orchard Street - really well worth a visit although no photos were allowed http://www.tenement.org/
Finally catching up! Wonderful capture of this place, quite timeless. In our genealogy work we refer to an Ellis Island archive quite regularly as it was, as you say, first port of call for the entering migrants. I bet it was a very evocative place to visit.
Excellent light and silhouettes. Very evocative. Sounds like an interesting trip - can't believe I never went there when I used to go to NY almost every weekend when I lived in boring Princeton.
A fave because of the lines, silhouettes, POV & the very special history which you have explained so well. This is such a beautifully composed shot Judith !!! You have just the eye, not a happy snapper like me !
i find this image quite poignant judith (can you prefix poignant with 'quite'?) ....quite poignant or just poignant...it's a stunning image and a moving bit of narrative
Brilliant photo, the silhouette is so good and also the floor reflection. You have described it all so well. We went there and I could have spent so much more time reading and hearing abour their stories.
awesome capture with the silhouettes and the lines on the window. Great focus too. IThe system for immigration into many countries is still pretty harrowing esp if youre a refugee...top of mind for me at the moment because Ive been watching to see what Australia end up deciding to do with the processing of the refugees who try to get there by boat....Im not sure there is any such thing as a deterent as I imagine nothing could be worse than the situations they have left behind.
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