Corridor, hospital wing
‘In early 2002, I photographed the interiors of the decaying buildings on the un-restored south side of Ellis Island. These buildings served prosaic and often sad purposes: they were the wards and medical facilities. They had a haunting beauty, with their subtle, almost monochromatic colors: greens and rust, old brick and peeling plaster. Ellis Island also had personal significance for me: two of my grandparents passed through the immigrant processing center when they came from Europe in the early years of the 20th century.’
Patient room, maternity hospital
Stairway, administration building
Doors, quarantine wards
Ferry terminal building
Casement window and courtyard
vito corleone was in a room like this at the beginning of godfather II.
I wonder how many of my ancestors knew these rooms?
Interesting. Although I took a tour several years later (2010), it appears not much has changed.
Nice work. The distinctive palette—especially the barely-there color—is mysterious and intriguing, much like the place itself.
I photographed there during the restoration as a participant in The Ellis Island Project: Documentation/Representation. Some of the images from that project are here.