On April 17, 1907 a record-breaking 11,000 immigrants arrived in the U.S. through Ellis Island. For this reason, the week surrounding this date is used to celebrate Immigrant Heritage Week in New York City and honor the many contributions immigrants have made to our city throughout its history.
The New York Public Library's Digital Collections contain many photographs of the Ellis Island facilities and the people who arrived there from all over the world seeking a better life for themselves and their families. A sampling of photographs is below and we invite you to explore more. The majority of the photographs were taken by Augustus Sherman, who worked as a clerk on Ellis Island from 1892 to 1925, and social photographer Lewis Wickes Hine.
Interpreter and recorder interviewing newcomers, Ellis Island, New York
Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine, 1908. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 79880