At a press conference held September 24, 2008 in Ellis Island’s historic Great Hall, Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne, joined The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. and the National Park Service in unveiling the plans for a significant expansion of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum to be called The Peopling of America® Center. Designed by ESI Design, this exciting new Center will enlarge the story currently told of the Ellis Island Era (1892-1954) to include the entire panorama of the American immigration experience, with exhibits dedicated to those who arrived before Ellis as well as those who arrived post-1954, right up to the present. It will illustrate the American immigration story across the generations and the important role immigrants have played in the making of this great nation.

High resolution images illustrating the plans and image captions for The Peopling of America® Center are available for download:

Global Migration
Before Ellis Island - Exhibits 1
Before Ellis Island - Exhibits 2
New Eras of Immigration
New Eras of Immigration - Exhibits
Citizenship Gallery
Image Captions
Photos from Press Event



About The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization founded in 1982 to raise funds for and oversee the historic restorations of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, working in partnership with the National Park Service/U.S. Department of the Interior. In addition to restoring the monuments, the Foundation created a museum in the Statue’s base and the world-class Ellis Island Immigration Museum, The American Immigrant Wall of Honor® and the American Family Immigration History Center®. Its endowment has funded over 200 projects at the islands.