Heated by cast iron radiators, the Great Hall of Ellis Island was the path to a bright future in America or a sad return to the homeland
Despite bright lighting and porcelain white walls and floor, every corridor surely presented fear and hope for those who passed through them.
During the course of the massive restoration of the main building on Ellis Island, workers discovered, beneath layers of old plaster and paint, almost 400 square feet of graffiti covered surfaces . One Italian immigrant wrote: "Damned be the day that I left my homeland and country." For others, the makeshift galleries gave expression to their imaginations.
