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Photos: Touring Ellis Island's Abandoned South Side
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 28, 2014
Modified Jul 29, 2014
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Photo courtesy of the Junior Historians
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 28, 2014
Modified Jul 29, 2014
Share
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Are you familiar with the south side of Ellis Island, which has been sitting in abandonment for about 60 years? It makes for some beautiful ruin porn, but it would be great to see this area restored, which is something the Save Ellis Island project has been determined to make happen. We reached out to them for some new updates on their efforts, but for now let's focus on the ruin.
Sean Enos-Robertson toured the area last week, and is sharing his photos with us. He explains:
"I have been co-leading a professional development seminar for history teachers from Omaha, through the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History. We were discussing the role of immigration in NYC and took this trip to Ellis Island. We were able to get two site volunteers to show us around the abandoned south side. We toured the hospital facilities, including these wards: admission, kitchen, contagious diseases, tuberculosis, power plant, morgue, and staff/doctor's quarters as well as the original ferry terminal (flooded and damaged by Hurricane Sandy)."
Ellis Island Hospital, inside tuberculosis ward, 1917. (Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York)
While clicking through, keep in mind that in its prime "the hospital complex was among the nation's most advanced medical facilities. Doctors from around the country came to the island for medical conferences to learn new diagnostic methods and treatments from the Public Health Service staff."
The Save Ellis Island team is currently working on raising funds to restore the Laundry Building, which you'll see in the first photos here.
UPDATE: Here's more from Enos-Robertson's trip to the island.
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Ellis Island
junior historians
south side
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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