| Notes |
- About the Foundation http://www.ellisisland.org/EIinfo/about.asp
In 1982, President Ronald Reagan asked Lee Iacocca, then Chairman of Chrysler Corporation, to head a private sector effort to raise funds for the restoration and preservation of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation (SOLEIF) was founded.
The Foundation's fundraising drive sparked a dramatic response. The American people contributed more than $600 million (and counting!) to the repair, restoration, and maintenance of these two great monuments to freedom. All funds for the Foundation?s projects have come from the American people ? no government funds have been used.
Restoring The Statue
The Foundation, working with its public partner, the National Park Service, U. S. Department of the Interior, first tackled the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. After almost a century, weather, pollution, and sightseeing had left Lady Liberty in serious need of repair, including replacement of her torch and strengthening of her crown's rays. An army of architects, historians, engineers, and almost 1000 laborers embarked on the project--which also involved the installation of new elevators and an informative exhibit in the Statue's base.
July 4th weekend, 1986, saw a gala three-day event celebrating the restoration. Fireworks filled the night skies; tall ships flocked the Harbor. "Liberty Weekend," attended by President Reagan and President Francois Mitterand of France, was broadcast to 1.5 billion people in 51 countries. The Foundation, the National Park Service, and the American people had launched the most successful public-private partnership in the history of the United States.
Restoring Ellis Island
The Foundation then turned its attention to the restoration of Ellis Island--the largest historical restoration in the history of the United States. Ellis Island, our most potent symbol of the American immigrant experience, had become sadly deteriorated. Again the American people responded with passion and generosity.
When the Island opened in September of 1990--two years ahead of schedule--it unveiled the world-class Ellis Island Immigration Museum, where some rooms appeared as they had during the height of immigrant processing. Other areas housed theaters, libraries, an oral history recording studio, and exhibits on the immigration experience. In the 1990s, the Foundation restored two more buildings (for a total of 5 buildings saved and restored on Ellis Island), expanding and upgrading the Museum Library and Oral History Studio, and creating a Children?s Orientation Center and the Ellis Island Living Theatre. The Ellis Island Immigration Museum has welcomed nearly 40 million visitors since its opening in 1990.
Working to promote knowledge of the Island, the Statue, and immigration history, the Foundation has also published and made available to libraries and schools many books and curriculum guides, as well as a CD-ROM produced in collaboration with the History Channel.
The Foundation?s current project is a significant expansion of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum to be called The Peopling of America
|
