Strange

Stars Fight to Save Ellis Island

by Kaitlin | September 10, 2007 at 01:10 pm

1288 views | 14 Recommendations | 3 comments

Advertising works: After seeing a powerful commercial promoting a campaign called We Are Ellis Island, I was compelled to go to the website in the commercial. When I was a temporary New Yorker I skipped the island on my Statue of Liberty tour; partly because of the cost to see the museum, and partly because I thought my family had no roots there (most of mine came in through the east coast of Canada). I regret that decision very much. Turns out I was wrong--a great, great grandfather most likely landed at Ellis in its early days before traveling northwest.

The idea of saving the buildings at Ellis Island seems like a no-brainer to me: American or not, it's hard not to feel that the North American experience comes, at least in part, from the shores of Ellis. Check out the ad campaigns (here, here, here and here); if you're unmoved you're a less sentimental person than I. Find out more, including how to tell your own family's Ellis Island story and how to donate, at www.weareellisisland.org.

Ellis Island, the great national landmark and irreplaceable American icon, is in dire need of repair and your help. From 1892 to 1954, the island served as a gateway into the United States for over 12 million people from all over the world. Today nearly 40% of all Americans can trace their roots to Ellis Island. In 1954, the island was closed but not protected from the elements of weather. In the 1990's, the main building was renovated and reopened as a museum, but much of the historic site still remains closed to the public.

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babblingdweeb

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 13:54 on September 10th, 2007

Good stuff! This is a really great thing they are doing...I spend a lot of time in historical preservation circles, I had not heard about this project though....thanks for posting it!

I agree with you...it's an important piece of history and it should be preserved. North America is a baby in the history world, yet we tend not to preserve our history or our buildings...a very unfortunate thing when you think about it.

ryan

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 15:13 on September 10th, 2007

Kaitlin, the ads are powerful...and you're right - so much of the North American experience started at Ellis and it represents the true values of the great nation which opened its arms to the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses that yearn to breathe free. Let's save Ellis Island.