Statue of Liberty National Monument

Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island, and Liberty Island
Location Jersey City and
New York City
Coordinates 40°41′39″N 74°2′35″W / 40.69417°N 74.04306°WCoordinates: 40°41′39″N 74°2′35″W / 40.69417°N 74.04306°W
Governing body U.S. National Park Service
Designated October 15, 1924
Statue of Liberty[1]
Designated May 11, 1965
Ellis Island[2]
Official name: Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island and Liberty Island
Designated October 15, 1966[3]
Reference no. 66000058
Designated May 27, 1971
Reference no. 1535[4]

The Statue of Liberty National Monument is a United States national monument located in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York comprising Liberty Island and Ellis Island.[5] It includes the Statue of Liberty, situated on Liberty Island, and the former immigration station at Ellis Island, which opened in 1892 and closed in 1954. The monument is managed by the National Park Service as part of the National Parks of New York Harbor office.

History

President Calvin Coolidge used his authority under the Antiquities Act to declare the statue a national monument in 1924.[1] In 1937, by proclamation 2250, President Franklin D. Roosevelt expanded the monument to include all of Bedloe's Island, and in 1956, an act of Congress officially renamed it Liberty Island.[6] Ellis Island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument by proclamation of President Lyndon Johnson in 1965.[2] The United States historic district, a single listing on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, was designated in 1966.[7]

The islands were closed during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 and suffered severe damage.[8][9][10][11][12] Liberty Island reopened July 4, 2013. Extensive repairs on Ellis Island are still being made.[13]

Significance

The Statue of Liberty is a world-famous symbol of freedom, given in the 1880s by France to the United States[14] in celebration of friendship. Nearby Ellis Island was the first stop for millions of immigrants to the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The national monument recalls this period of massive immigration to the United States.

Inside the statue, a plaque is engraved with words from "The New Colossus", the poem by Emma Lazarus:

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Location and access

Ellis and Liberty Islands (bottom center) in Upper New York Bay at the mouth of the Hudson River (left) near Liberty State Park

The national monument is located in Upper New York Bay east of Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey and southwest of Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan in New York City. Entrance is free, but there is a charge for the ferry service that all visitors must use.

In 2007, a concession was granted to Statue Cruises to operate the transportation and ticketing facilities, replacing the Circle Line which had operated the service since 1953.[15] The waters are patrolled by the US Park Police[16][17] to enforce the restriction on private boat landings. Ferries depart from both parks and all boats stop at both islands, enabling passengers to visit both islands and choose either destination on the return trip.[18][19]

Tickets can be purchased at Castle Clinton in Battery Park or at the Communipaw Terminal in Liberty State Park. Along with the ferry ticket, visitors intending to enter the statue's pedestal must also obtain a complimentary ticket[20]

Those wishing to climb the 154 stairs to the crown within the statue must obtain a special ticket, which may be reserved up to a year in advance. Ten people per group, three groups per hour, are permitted to ascend, allowing for a total of 240 per day. After an obligatory second security screening, they may bring only medication and cameras, leaving all other items in lockers provided.[20]

Statue of Liberty

Jurisdiction

Liberty Island and Ellis Island have been the property of the United States government since 1800[6] and 1808, respectively.[21] Historical circumstances have led to the unusual situation of Liberty Island and 3.3 acres (13,000 m2) of Ellis Island being exclaves of one state, New York, located completely within another state, New Jersey. The dominion, jurisdiction, and sovereignty of the islands have variously been the subject of a colonial land grant,[22] a provincial governor's directive,[23] and an interstate compact,[24] as well as several court cases and U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Liberty Island and the acreage on Ellis Island are part of New York City which are completely surrounded by the municipal borders of Jersey City, including 24 acres (97,000 m2) created by land reclamation at Ellis Island and riparian areas. Jurisdiction not superseded by the federal government falls to the appropriate state.[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]

Related sites

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "National Monument Proclamations under the Antiquities Act". National Park Service. January 16, 2003. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Ellis Island Time". Staue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. January 16, 2003. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  3. ↑ National Park Service (1994). National Register of Historic Places, 1966-1994: Cumulative List Through January 1, 1994s. Washington DC: National Park Service. p. 502. ISBN 0-89133-254-5.
  4. ↑ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Hudson County". New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  5. ↑ Frequently Asked Questions, National Park Service, accessed September 27, 2010.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Early History of Bedloe's Island". Statue of Liberty Historical Handbook. National Park Service. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  7. ↑ National Register of Historic Places
  8. ↑ McGeehan, Patrick (November 8, 2012). "Storm Leaves Lady Liberty and Ellis Island Cut Off From Visitors". The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  9. ↑ Fransco, Angel= (November 30, 2012). "Statue of Liberty Was Unscathed by Hurricane, but Its Home Took a Beating". pp. The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  10. ↑ Star-Ledger. November 22, 2012 http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2012/11/statue_of_liberty_and_ellis_is.html. Retrieved December 1, 2012. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ Mcshane, Larry (November 30, 2012). "Statue of Liberty will remain closed as post-Hurricane Sandy repairs continue". Daily News (New York). Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  12. ↑ "After the Storm at Ellis Island". National Park Service. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Statue of Liberty July 4, 2013 Reopening - Statue of Liberty National Monument". National Park Service. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Statue of Liberty National Monument". National Park Service. December 31, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
  15. ↑ Ramirez, Anthony, Anthony (June 29, 2007), "Circle Line Loses Pact for Ferries to Liberty Island", New York Times, retrieved August 15, 2010
  16. ↑ "US Park Police". Ferry Map. US Park Police. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  17. ↑ http://www.maritime-executive.com/pressrelease/us-department-interior-awards-moose-boats-contract-m1-44-patrol-boat/
  18. ↑ "NPS: Liberty and Ellis Island ferry map". Ferry Map. National Park Service. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  19. ↑ "Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island". Statue Cruises. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Frequently asked questions". Statue of Liberty. National Park Service. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  21. ↑ Fort Wood
  22. ↑ The Duke of York's Release to John Lord Berkeley, and Sir George Carteret, 24th of June, 1664
  23. ↑ Moss, Mitchell (Summer 1988), "New York vs New Jersey: A New Perspective", Portfolio (PANYNJ) 1 (2)
  24. ↑ General Services Administration Offices of General Council (February 11, 1963). "Ellis Island Its Legal Status" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  25. ↑ NEW JERSEY V. NEW YORK, 28 U. S. 461 (1830)
  26. ↑ Greenhouse, Linda (May 27, 1998), "The Ellis Island Verdict: The Ruling; High Court Gives New Jersey Most of Ellis Island", The New York Times
  27. ↑ Rieff, Henry, "Intrepretations of New York-New Jersey Agreements 1834 and 1921" (PDF), Newark Law Review 1 (2)
  28. ↑ "Statue of Liberty National Monument - Frequently Asked Questions". NPS.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  29. ↑ Central R. Co. of New Jersey v. Jersey City, 209 U.S. 473 (1908)
  30. ↑ Application of Devoe Manufacturing Company for a Writ of Prohibition/Opinion of the Court - Wikisource, the free online library. En.wikisource.org. Retrieved on July 15, 2013.
  31. ↑ National Park Service map showing portions of the island belonging to New York and New Jersey
  32. ↑ NEW JERSEY v. NEW YORK 523 U.S. 767 page 779

Further reading

Statue of Liberty:

Ellis Island:

Jurisdiction:

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Statue of Liberty National Monument.

Ellis Island: