The Centennial of Ellis Island

According to the Palm Beach Post, USPS honored the centennial of Ellis Island on May 11, 1992 with a 19-cent historic preservation postal card. First-day ceremonies were held at 11 a.m. just outside of the Great Hall's Museum. The card's indicium, the imprinted stamp with 19-cent pre-paid postage, was designed by East Norwich, N.Y., artist Howard Kos-low.

From its opening in 1892 through 1954, more than 12 million immigrants were processed through Ellis Island, located in Upper New York Bay. Today, we celebrate its 124th anniversary.

From the World Trade Center in 1994

I received an email today from TouchNote today, saying "it's been over a year since you sent this photo as a Touchnote postcard! It's probably still out on display somewhere being enjoyed, too! Why not make someone's day with another postcard?"

The postcard shows a sunset view from the top of the World Trade Center at Lower Manhattan in New York City, overlooking the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, 20 years ago in 1994 when I first visited the Big Apple. The original World Trade Center featured landmark twin towers, opened on April 4, 1973 and destroyed in the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Ellis Island

Postcard US-2452555 to Japan shows Ellis Island, gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States and the busiest immigrant inspection station in the country from 1892 to 1954. The island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965. Together, Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island and Liberty Island was designated a U.S. National Register of Historic Place on October 15, 1966. The island has been closed to the public due to damages from Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. It is scheduled to re-open in 2014.

The photo on the card was taken during my trip to New York City with my BluePass by JetBlue on November 21, 2011. The postcard is overdue with a dozen of others (see my blog on November 18, 2012) that were sent out around October 14, 2012. A replacement card has been sent recently.