Statue of Liberty Pedestal Reopens July 1; Statue City Cruises Offers Extended Hours to Visit Statue, Ellis Island

The pedestal at the Statue of Liberty has been reopened to visitors. Statue City Cruises, which provides ferry service to the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island on behalf of the National Park Service, is offering extended operating hours to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from Battery Park in lower Manhattan and Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ. © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

New York, NY–Statue City Cruises, the official and only authorized concessioner for ferry service to the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island on behalf of the National Park Service, announced today extended operating hours to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from Battery Park in lower Manhattan and Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ as the interior of the Statue of Liberty up to the pedestal reopens on July 1^st. (Both Islands have been open since Summer 2020 with access inside the Statue restricted). Tickets inside the pedestal are available for purchase, beginning today. 

Beginning Thursday morning, July 1, Statue City Cruises will offer departures from both Battery Park, NY and Liberty State Park, NJ from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM daily, providing visitors an extra 90 minutes to explore both islands, including the mini-Statue of Liberty that will be on Ellis Island facing the iconic Statue on Liberty Island from July 1 to July 5 before heading to its long-term home in Washington D.C. The last departures of the day from Liberty and Ellis Island will now be 6:15 PM. 

Although 1/16^th the size of the original Statue of Liberty, the Statue’s “little sister” is based on the same plaster cast. The 1,000-pound replica is another gift from France to celebrate friendship between France and the United States. Prior to Ellis Island, the replica Statue had been on display at the Paris-based museum, Musée des Arts et Métiers.  

Face masks remainrequired throughout the entire experience, and crews will continue increased cleaning protocols to ensure the highest levels of onboard safety for everyone.   

“In another sign of normalcy, we are excited to once again offer extended operating hours this summer to all visitors who are eager to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island,” said Mike Burke, COO of Concessions and Park Services for City Experiences by Hornblower. “Every Statue City Cruises ticket includes access to both ‘Statues of Liberty’ and to both Islands, as we welcome back guests to these gems of New York Harbor.” 

Among the top five activities awaiting guests this summer season include:

·         Double the Statue, double the fun with a Statue of Liberty on both Liberty and Ellis Island and the reopening of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

·         A breath of fresh air – Enjoying acres of wide-open space on both Islands.

·         Learn the history of the Statue of Liberty through the new Statue of Liberty Museum.

·         Where you came from? Trace family histories at the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration.

·         Enjoy an Ellis Island Hard Hat Tour of the vacant buildings of Ellis Island’s Hospital Complex.  Reservations are required for Hard Hat Tours.

Tickets are $23.50/adult, $18/seniors, $12/child and free for children three years and under. Tickets include self-guided audio tours on Liberty and Ellis Island. Guests are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets in advance from the Statue City Cruises website. Tickets are also available at the Battery Park and Liberty State Park box offices.

For more information about Statue City Cruises and City Experiences, visit https://www.cityexperiences.com/new-york/city-cruises/statue/.

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Ellis Island Immigration Museum to Reopen, One year after Superstorm Sandy; Repair Work Continues

Ellis Island Immigration Museum pays homage to the millions of immigrants from all over the world who have made the United States of America © 2013 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Ellis Island Immigration Museum, part of Statue of Liberty National Monument, will reopen  to the public on Monday, October 28 for the first time since Hurricane Sandy submerged the island a year ago.

“We are delighted to be able to share Ellis Island’s uniquely American story with the world once more,” said Superintendent David Luchsinger. “I can think of no better way to celebrate Lady Liberty’s 127^th birthday than to welcome visitors back to the place where those ‘huddled masses yearning to breathe free’ first came to our shores.”

Visitors will once again walk the halls of the immigration station where 12 million people began life in America. Open areas on the first and second floors include the Great Hall, where immigrants were inspected, and Journeys: The Peopling of America 1550-1890. This first-floor exhibit, developed with the support of The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, tells the story of American immigration prior to Ellis Island’s years of operation. Visitors can pick up a free audio tour, join a ranger program and watch an introductory film. Outside, visitors can stroll to the popular American Immigrant Wall of Honor and take in fabulous views of Manhattan.

Ellis Island Immigration Museum will remain a work in progress at least through the spring. Repairs to the water and sewage systems have already taken place. An entirely new electrical system will be installed along with a new air conditioning system for climate control of the park’s million documents and artifacts. Elevator access to the Great Hall on the second floor is not yet available, but should be restored by early next year. Because of the storm, most of the museum collection is currently stored in a climate-controlled facility in Maryland. A temporary ventilation system will be replaced by permanent equipment later this year.

When Hurricane Sandy hit New York Harbor on October 29, 2012, Ellis Island was completely covered by water. The storm surge destroyed electrical, communications, heating and cooling systems. After the Statue reopened on July 4, the park shifted its efforts from repairs at Liberty Island to planning the more complex task of reopening an historic structure that preserves a delicate museum collection.

Ellis Island was the former federal immigration processing station which processed over 12 million immigrants between 1892 and 1954. A 1965 presidential proclamation added the island to the National Park Service as part of Statue of Liberty National Monument. After years of neglect, major restoration work on the Main Building took place in the 1980s, opening as the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in 1990. The National Park Service works with its partner organizations, The Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation and Save Ellis Island, to improve and enhance operations at the park.

To visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, purchase tickets at www.statuecruises.com. Statue Cruises is the business that owns and runs the ferries that take visitors to the park. The website contains information about ferry ticket prices. (877-LADY-TIX or (201) 604-2800,  www.statuecruises.com).

For more info on visiting the Statue, see http://www.nps.gov/stli/planyourvisit/index.htm.

See also:

Ellis Island Immigration Museum: Where Everyman is Hero

Statue of Liberty invites visitors to her Crown: Only 240 tickets available each day

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Ellis Island Immigration Museum Remains Closed after Superstorm Sandy; Collection Moved to a Stable Environment

Ellis Island Immigration Museum in happier times: a visitor stands in front of the flags of all peoples. The museum has had to close, and the collection moved to safer ground, after Superstorm Sandy © 2013 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Ellis Island Immigration Museum remains closed due to severe damage to infrastructure on the island from Hurricane Sandy. “Though the Museum collection was not harmed during or after the storm, we are unable to maintain a climate-controlled environment critical to protecting the many significant historical artifacts in the collection. To protect these items and facilitate work toward repairing damaged infrastructure on Ellis Island, we have decided to temporarily move the Ellis Island Immigration Museum collection to an offsite National Park Service facility,” said Superintendent Dave Luchsinger.

Over the past few weeks staff at Ellis Island, with support of the NPS Museum Emergency Response Team, carefully wrapped and boxed museum items to be transported for temporary storage at the NPS Museum Resources Center in Landover, Maryland. The Museum Resources Center is run by the NPS and already holds the collection for a variety of NPS sites in the Washington, D.C. area, including the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The Museum Emergency Response Team consists of NPS curatorial specialists from around the country who have moved large museum collections in the past. Since there is no electrical power at Ellis Island, items are being moved by hand down three flights of stairs.

The Ellis Island Museum Collection complements the history of one of America’s iconic treasures. The collection holds over one million items, including both archival documents and historic artifacts. The collection will be available to researchers on a limited basis at its temporary location.

The Mudder Museum collection, located in the Ferry Building at Ellis Island, has already been moved to Harpers Ferry Conservation Center for assessment and treatment by the NPS.

At this time, Ellis Island and State of Liberty remain closed to visitors while NPS staff and contractors stabilize conditions on the two islands. The historic collection will remain offsite until utilities have been restored and items can be stored in a stable, climate-controlled environment, as they were in the past.

See also: Ellis Island Immigration Museum: Where Everyman is Hero

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