The Statue of Liberty National Monument is a United States national monument comprising Liberty Island and

Ellis Island Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United State ...

in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

s of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and New York. It includes the 1886

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

(''Liberty Enlightening the World'') by sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and the Statue of Liberty Museum, both situated on Liberty Island, as well as the former immigration station at Ellis Island, which includes the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital. The monument is managed by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

as part of the National Parks of New York Harbor office.

History

President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

used his authority under the Antiquities Act to declare the statue a national monument in 1924. In 1937, by proclamation 2250, President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

expanded the monument to include all of Bedloe's Island, and in 1956, an act of Congress officially renamed it Liberty Island. Ellis Island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument by proclamation of President

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

on May 11, 1965. The United States historic district, a single listing on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, was designated in 1966. The islands were closed during

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late ...

in October 2012 and suffered severe damage. Liberty Island reopened July 4, 2013, while Ellis Island reopened October 24, 2013. Storm damage and the necessary repairs for them have heavily affected Ellis Island as hurricanes have become more common in the New York/New Jersey area. On March 16, 2020, both islands closed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On July 20, 2020, the Statue of Liberty reopened partially under New York City's Phase IV guidelines; Ellis Island reopened partially in August 2020.

Significance

The Statue of Liberty is a world-famous symbol of freedom, given in 1886 by France to the United States in celebration of American Independence. 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 Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and Culture of the United States, cultural change throughout much of history of the United States, its history. As of January 2025, the United States has the la ...

. Inside the statue, a plaque added in 1903 is engraved with words from "

The New Colossus "The New Colossus" is a sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus (1849–1887). She wrote the poem in 1883 to raise money for the construction of a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''). In 1903, the poem was cast ...

", an 1883 poem by Emma Lazarus:

Location and access

The national monument is located in

Upper New York Bay New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay ...

, east of

Liberty State Park Liberty State Park (LSP) is a park in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey, Jersey City opposite Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with United States Bicenten ...

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, and southwest of

Battery Park The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan#Manhattan Island, Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. The park is bounded by Battery Place on the north, with Bowling ...

at the tip of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. 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. The waters are patrolled by the U.S. Park Police 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. 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. 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. Visitors intending to tour Ellis Island's south side, namely the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital, must purchase a "Hard Hat Tour" ticket, which charges an additional fee on top of the regular ferry ticket. In 2019, the NPS announced that starting on May 16, 2019, tour groups will be banned from certain parts of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, such as the Statue of Liberty's observation deck and the Ellis Island museum. The NPS cited overcrowding for its decision. Although only 1,000 of the site's 24,000 daily visitors travel to the monument within tour groups, the NPS stated that these groups tend to block pedestrian flow within the monument. After Statue Cruises' ferry landing at Liberty State Park was partly sunk during a 2020 storm, a temporary landing was added at the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal. While repairs to the barge took place, ferry service from Liberty State Park to the monument was halted from January to March of each year.

Jurisdiction

Liberty Island and Ellis Island have been the property of the

United States government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

since 1800 and 1808, respectively. Historical circumstances have led to the unusual situation of Liberty Island and of Ellis Island being

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

s of New York, both completely surrounded by New Jersey. The dominion, jurisdiction, and sovereignty of the islands have variously been the subject of a colonial land grant, a provincial governor's directive, and an interstate compact, as well as several court cases and a U.S. Supreme Court decision. The result of which is that the natural land masses including Liberty Island and the original acreage on Ellis Island are part of

, and the created by

land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

at Ellis Island belongs to New Jersey, all surrounded by the municipal borders of

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

. Jurisdiction not superseded by the federal government falls to the appropriate state.

Superintendents

Sources: * John Townsley 1965–1967 * Henry Schmidt 1967–1970 * Jerry Wagers 1970–1971 * "Administration supervised by New York District Office from 12/26/1971 to 1/06/1974" Possibly overseen in this time by James Godbolt. * William Hendrickson 1974–1975 * Appears to have not been an acting superintendent between Hendrickson and Moffit. * David Moffit 1977–1987 * Kevin Buckley 1987–1990 * Myra Harrison 1990-1990 * Meridith Belkov 1990–1996 * Diane Dayson 1996–2003 * Cynthia Garrett 2003–2009 * David Luchsinger 2009–2013 * John Piltzecker 2013–

Related sites

– entrance to the New York ferry to the monument ** Castle Clinton – the New York ticket office *

– entrance to the New Jersey ferry to the monument ** Communipaw Terminal – the New Jersey ticket office *

Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk ...

– another island in New York Harbor ** Governors Island National Monument – a national monument on Governors Island

References

External links

Statue of Liberty
National Park Service

Visitor information.

National Park Service
Ellis Island Immigration Museum

Visitor information {{DEFAULTSORT:Statue Of Liberty National Monument Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City Museums in Hudson County, New Jersey National Park Service national monuments in New Jersey Historic districts in Hudson County, New Jersey * Monuments and memorials in New Jersey Protected areas established in 1924 History museums in New York City Protected areas of Hudson County, New Jersey Port of New York and New Jersey History museums in New Jersey * Tourist attractions in Jersey City, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Hudson County, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan National Park Service national monuments in New York (state) 1924 establishments in the United States Monuments and memorials in Manhattan National Park Service areas in New York City