Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: Tickets

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Tickets and Information

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• Statue of Liberty Address: Liberty Island, New York, NY 10004
• Opening Hours: Daily from 08:30 - 16:40

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Are the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island worth visiting

• As one of the most famous sights and most popular tourist attractions in New York, we definitely think so, yes!

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What you see when visiting the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island‍

• The Statue of Liberty
• Liberty Island
• Ellis Island
• Boat trip along the river

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About the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island‍

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island may be two of New York’s most iconic landmarks and biggest tourist attractions, but they also hold significant historical and cultural importance for the city and as a whole, to the United States due to Ellis Island being used as the immigration centre.

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty, also known as 'Lady Liberty', was actually a gift from France in 1886 to mark the friendship between the two nations, as well as the centennial of American independence.

Sitting on Liberty Island, she was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, with the framework engineered by Gustave Eiffel (who later designed the ‘Eiffel Tower’). The statue stands proudly at 305 feet (93 metres) tall, from the ground to the tip of the flame, with the statue herself being 151 feet.

Symbolically, Lady Liberty represents freedom and democracy. She holds a torch and a tablet which is inscribed with the date of the American Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) in Roman numerals. She became a beacon of hope and opportunity for immigrants arriving in the United States, as it was often the first sight they saw as they entered New York Harbour and then docked at Ellis Island to be processed.

Ellis Island

Ellis Island is a separate island that sits next to Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty. Ellis Island served as the primary immigration station for the United States from 1892 to 1954 and it processed over 12 million immigrants during this time, making it the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station.

Upon arrival at Ellis Island, immigrants had medical checks and legal inspections to determine their eligibility to enter the United States and start what they hoped would be their new and better lives, having escaped persecution and or other problems in their home countries. Today millions of New Yorkers know their families arrived via Ellis Island, which is why it holds so much importance to the city and the country.

Ellis Island is now part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument and is home to the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. The museum provides insights into the immigrant experience and the history of immigration to the United States.

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island stand as symbols of American ideals such as freedom, democracy, and opportunity, and also represent the diverse immigrant heritage of the nation, which is why they have become such important national symbols, helping to make America what it is!

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Interesting Facts About Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Statue of Liberty:

• Original Colour: The Statue of Liberty was originally a shiny copper colour but over the years it oxidised and turned into the iconic green colour you see today. This process took about 30 years!
• Torch Access: You used to be able to access the torch of the Statue of Liberty, but it has been closed since 1916 after an explosion (known as the Black Tom explosion) damaged it. You can now only get as high as the crown.
• The Crown’s Seven Spikes: The statue's crown features seven spikes and they represent the seven seas and seven continents.
• Pedestal Poem: The pedestal features a bronze plaque which is inscribed with Emma Lazarus’s famous poem "The New Colossus,". The poem includes the iconic lines: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
• Shipping the Statue: The Statue of Liberty was shipped from France to the United States in 350 individual pieces which were packed into 214 separate crates! It took four months to build once it had arrived!
• Lady Liberty’s Face: It’s suggested that the face of the Statue of Liberty was modelled on the sculptor Bartholdi’s mother, Charlotte.

Ellis Island:

• First and Last Immigrants: The first immigrant processed at Ellis Island was Annie Moore, a 15-year-old girl from Ireland, on January 1, 1892. The last person to pass through was a Norwegian seaman named Arne Peterssen in 1954.
• Medical Inspections: Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island underwent medical and legal inspections. Those with health issues were often detained at the hospital on the island for further examination before being allowed to enter the country.
• Name Changes Myth: Contrary to popular belief, officials at Ellis Island did not change immigrants' names. Most name changes occurred after immigrants left the island, often as a result of assimilation into American culture.
• Ellis Island Fires: Before the current brick buildings were constructed, Ellis Island had wooden buildings on but due to a major fire in 1897, they were burnt down. The fire destroyed many immigration records, and the current main building was completed in 1900.
• Peak Year of Immigration: In 1907 Ellis Island processed over 1.2 million people, and in the same year on 17th April 1907, it had its highest single day with 11,747 people arriving.
• Ellis Island Expansion: Ellis Island was just over 3 acres in size originally, however, it was expanded to around 27.5 acres (as it still stands today). They used the material from the excavation of the New York City subway system to expand it!