Though we've taken a couple of peeks inside the decrepit structures on Ellis Island's south side?from a recreation building and autopsy hall to a psychiatric hospital and quarantine wards?the north side of the former gateway to New York City has proven less appealing to wandering eyes. That is, until modern ruins aficionado Ian Ference posted an extensive photo series on his blog depicting the rundown former dorm rooms, bathrooms, and other facilities housed in one building next to the island's main structure. "It was a detention facility for undesirables," he tells Curbed, "and then, believe it or not, an internment camp for mostly German-American and Italian-American citizens during WW2."
Formally called the Baggage and Dormitory Building, during Ellis Island's busiest years in the early 20th century it was undeniably used for more than just luggage?it was essentially a packed holding pen for incoming immigrants while officials figured out whether or not to let them into the U.S. The rooms have been empty since right after World War II, so Ference was able to capture the gloriously rundown rooms after they'd been left to rot for six decades, with all their peeling paint, broken tiles, askew bathtubs, an abandoned mattress sterilization machine, a rusty safe, and the like.
· Ellis Island?Baggage and Dormitory Building [The Kingston Lounge]
· Inside the Abandoned Buildings of Ellis Island's South Side [Curbed]
· Rare Look at Less Touristy, More Terrifying Part of Ellis Island [Curbed]
· Ellis Island coverage [Curbed]
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