Between 1820 and 1924, over 36 million immigrants arrived in the United States. These ten sites — processing stations, tenements, and ethnic neighborhood museums — tell that story from both coasts and several borders.
No. 01 · New York Harbor
Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration
12 million people were processed here between 1892 and 1954.
The Registry Room is restored to its 1918 appearance; the American Family Immigration History Center lets you search arrival manifests on the spot.
Tip · Reserve the Hard Hat Tour of the unrestored hospital wards — small groups only, books out weeks ahead.
No. 02 · Liberty Island, New York
Statue of Liberty
Bartholdi's 1886 colossus — the first sight for millions of arrivals.
The pedestal and crown climbs are separate tickets and limited daily; the museum at the base opened in 2019 and is excellent.
Tip · Book crown tickets four months ahead; pedestal usually available a week ahead.
No. 03 · New York, New York
Tenement Museum
Restored apartments at 97 and 103 Orchard Street, home to 15,000 immigrants from 20 countries.
Guided tours only — you walk into the actual rooms where the Levine, Moore, and Baldizzi families lived.
Tip · The 'Under One Roof' tour covers post-1945 immigration; less famous and often easier to book.
No. 04 · San Francisco Bay, California
Angel Island Immigration Station
The Ellis Island of the West — and the harshest, primarily processing Chinese immigrants 1910–1940.
Walls of the barracks are covered in Chinese poetry carved by detainees; the museum interprets all of it.
Tip · Ferry from Tiburon (cheaper) or Pier 41 in SF; bring a picnic, food on the island is limited.
No. 05 · New York, New York
Lower East Side Historic District
The most densely populated neighborhood on earth in 1900.
Walk Orchard Street, Eldridge Street, Hester Street; eat at Russ & Daughters and Katz's Delicatessen — both founded in the 1880s.
Tip · Combine with the Eldridge Street Synagogue, restored 1887 Moorish-revival masterpiece.
No. 06 · Battery Park, New York
Castle Clinton National Monument
The immigration station BEFORE Ellis Island — processed 8 million people 1855–1890.
Round sandstone fort at the tip of Manhattan; free, often overlooked, and the actual first sight of America for more Germans and Irish than Ellis Island ever processed.
Tip · Free Statue of Liberty tickets are issued from inside Castle Clinton.
No. 07 · New York, New York
Italian American Museum & Little Italy
Mulberry Street, the 1920s heart of Italian New York.
Combine the museum with a Saturday-morning espresso at Caffè Roma (1891), then walk to Most Precious Blood for the September San Gennaro feast.
Tip · Visit in September if you want the feast in full swing.
No. 08 · Chicago, Illinois
Hull-House Museum
Jane Addams's 1889 settlement house, the model for immigrant social services in America.
On the UIC campus; original Hull mansion and dining hall, plus the labor-and-suffrage archive Addams built here.
Tip · Free; closed Mondays. Combine with the National Museum of Mexican Art in nearby Pilsen.
No. 09 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
American Swedish Historical Museum
Oldest Swedish museum outside Sweden, founded 1926.
Built on land granted by Queen Christina in 1653 — the Swedes were here a century before Penn.
Tip · Combine with Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church a few miles away, the oldest church in Pennsylvania.
No. 10 · Washington, DC
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Smithsonian museum tracing the forced migration of enslaved Africans and the Great Migration north.
The History Galleries below ground are the most important museum experience in the country.
Tip · Free timed-entry passes released daily at 8:15 a.m. EST online; book on the day for best chance.
Manhattan does six of the ten well in two days: Ellis Island and Liberty one morning, Tenement Museum and Lower East Side the next afternoon, with Castle Clinton on the walk to the ferry.