I have rated Ellis Island five stars multiple times, but didn't realize Save Ellis Island had its own Yelp! listing.
While Ellis Island and the Ellis Island museum are both amazing, it's the Ellis Island hard hat tours, organized and run by the Save Ellis Island Foundation, that are the most amazing.
The hard hat tours are more exclusive, limited in number, but more expensive. Two tickets (for me and my friend) were 150.00. Please keep in mind that your security times and tour times are different. Our tour was at 11:30, but our security time was at 9 AM. We showed up about 10 minutes early and waited in line, but it moved fast (my first two tours had no wait time, as it was before tourism picked back up in NYC). We arrived on Ellis Island with about 45 minutes to an hour before our tour. We grabbed snacks and drinks, and that's about all we had time for.
I have gone three times--once alone in 2021, with my husband in 2022, and with a friend just recently in 2024. Each time, I've seen and learned different things. The first time I visited, I saw many of the art installations by French artist, JR. On my second visit, I saw different art installations by JR, while also getting to view the psych hospital. On my third visit, I got to see the TB ward. Each tour guide was interesting and engaging without talking too fast or too much. No info overload here. The tour was relaxed, and you could tell each guide held passion for preserving this forgotten part of Ellis Island.
You'll learn about the immigrants who didn't pass immediately into America. The sick, the disabled. Those who really didn't have anything wrong with them, but physicians who believed in eugenics sent them to the psych ward anyway. Because this part of Ellis Island is not being restored, rather than placed in "arrested decay," the parts of the hospital campus you'll be able to see will be based on whatever is being worked on and whatever has been recently stabilized. This is why I've managed to see and learn new things each time I've visited.
All of the funds from your ticket price got to "Save Ellis Island," the non-profit in charge of this endeavor. They don't get any funds from the government or National Park Service.
You won't regret ponying up a few extra bucks for this special experience. And even doing it again and again! read more