Free Essays on Ellis Island

ELLIS ISLAND Ellis Island has a long history, was needed, and was the "Gateway to America" from 1892 until it closed in 1954, when it began its slow decay. The island was called Gull Island by the Indians and Oyster Island by the Dutch. Later the English erected a gibbet or gallows on the island for hanging criminals and so the island became known as Gibbet Island. The Indians sold it to the Dutch East India Company for trinkets. The company later sold it to Mynheer Paauw who also bought land along the New Jersey coastline. Samuel Ellis, a colonial merchant bought the island and it became at last Ellis Island. After the Revolution, the island was sold to New York State and in 1811, Fort Gibson was built on it in preparation for the War of 1812. No fighting took place at Fort Gibson it was mainly a munitions storage fort. When immigrants began, pouring into New York City, New York State processed them at an old fort known as Castle Clinton on the Battery at the tip of Manhattan. When that facility became too small for the large number of immigrants arriving in the country, they chose Ellis Island as the new immigration center. After erecting new wooden buildings, it opened in 1892 but those buildings burned in 1897. New buildings were erected in 1900 and it reopened. Eventually the control of immigration was turned over to the Federal government. Ellis Island was the principal federal immigration station the â€Å"Gateway to America† in the United States from 1892 to 1954. More than 12 million immigrants were processed here. Over time, the immigration station spread over 3 connected islands with numerous structures including a hospital and contagious disease wards. It is estimated that over 40 percent of all citizens can trace their ancestry to those who came through Ellis Island. In its early years, when the greatest number of immigrants entered the country, Ellis Island mirrored the n... Free Essays on Ellis Island Free Essays on Ellis Island ELLIS ISLAND Ellis Island has a long history, was needed, and was the "Gateway to America" from 1892 until it closed in 1954, when it began its slow decay. The island was called Gull Island by the Indians and Oyster Island by the Dutch. Later the English erected a gibbet or gallows on the island for hanging criminals and so the island became known as Gibbet Island. The Indians sold it to the Dutch East India Company for trinkets. The company later sold it to Mynheer Paauw who also bought land along the New Jersey coastline. Samuel Ellis, a colonial merchant bought the island and it became at last Ellis Island. After the Revolution, the island was sold to New York State and in 1811, Fort Gibson was built on it in preparation for the War of 1812. No fighting took place at Fort Gibson it was mainly a munitions storage fort. When immigrants began, pouring into New York City, New York State processed them at an old fort known as Castle Clinton on the Battery at the tip of Manhattan. When that facility became too small for the large number of immigrants arriving in the country, they chose Ellis Island as the new immigration center. After erecting new wooden buildings, it opened in 1892 but those buildings burned in 1897. New buildings were erected in 1900 and it reopened. Eventually the control of immigration was turned over to the Federal government. Ellis Island was the principal federal immigration station the â€Å"Gateway to America† in the United States from 1892 to 1954. More than 12 million immigrants were processed here. Over time, the immigration station spread over 3 connected islands with numerous structures including a hospital and contagious disease wards. It is estimated that over 40 percent of all citizens can trace their ancestry to those who came through Ellis Island. In its early years, when the greatest number of immigrants entered the country, Ellis Island mirrored the n...

How to Choose a Building Lot for Your New House

How to Choose a Building Lot for Your New House Youre building a house. Which do you do first? 1. Select a style and a plan OR 2. Select a building lot? Both approaches have merit. If your heart is set on a Spanish style adobe home, a heavily treed lot may not make sense for you. Having an idea of the architectural style you prefer will determine the size and characteristics of your building site. You may run into problems, however, if you select a specific floor plan too soon. You can always design a home to suit a landscape, but you may not be able to alter a landscape to accommodate the specifications of predetermined house plans. The configuration of rooms, the placement of windows, the location of the driveway and many other design elements will be affected by the land you build on. The land itself has long been the inspiration for truly great homes. Consider Frank Lloyd Wrights Fallingwater. Constructed of concrete slabs, the house is anchored to a rugged stone hill in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. Compare Fallingwater with Mies van der Rohes Farnsworth House. Made almost entirely of transparent glass, this unearthly structure seems to float above a grassy plain in Plano, Illinois. Would the Farnsworth House seem as graceful and serene perched on a rocky hill? Would Fallingwater make such a powerful statement if it sat in a grass field? Probably not. Questions to Ask About Your Building Lot Once you have located a promising building site for your new home, spend some time on the building site. Walk the full length of the building site at different times of the day. If you are a follower of feng shui, you may want to think about the land in terms of its chi, or energy. If you prefer a more down-to-earth evaluation, think about ways the building site will influence the shape and style of your home. Ask yourself: What are the general characteristics of the land? Is it green and woodsy? Rocky and gray? Or, is it a vast open stretch with a golden hue? Will the prevailing colors of the landscape change with the seasons? Will the home you imagine blend with the landscape? Does the landscape suggest particular colors or materials you might include in the design of your home?Can other structures be clearly seen from the building lot? What is the prevailing architectural style? Will your proposed home fit the overall context of the neighborhood?Will the size of your proposed house be proportionate to the size of the lot? (You dont want to squeeze a mansion onto a postage stamp!)Is there a street or road? Should the house face toward or away from the road?Where should the driveway be located? Will there be enough room for cars and delivery trucks to turn around?Where are the most pleasing views? Where does the sun rise and set? Which views would you like to see from the living areas? From the kitchen ? From the bedrooms? Where should windows and doors be placed? If you are in a northern climate, how important is it to face the south? Will a southern exposure help you save on heating costs?Is the site flat? Are there hills or streams? Are there any other geological conditions that might affect the design or placement of your home?How much landscaping will be required? Will preparing the land for building and planting trees and shrubbery add to your final costs? The waterfall views at Fallingwater may look idyllic, but for most of us, building on a rocky hillside isnt practical. You want the site of your new home to be beautiful, but it must also be safe... and affordable. Before you make a final decision, youll need to consider a mind-boggling list of technical details. Check Your Building Lot For Common Problems As you narrow your search for an ideal building site, dont scrimp on getting expert advice on home building. Your builder can put you in touch with consultants with the legal and scientific expertise to offer building advice. Your consultants will investigate the characteristics of the land and explore zoning, building codes and other factors. Land Conditions Soil. Has the property been a victim of hazardous waste? Are there pollutants that may not be apparent to an untrained observer?Land Stability. Is the property is subject to land slides or sinkages?Water Drainage. Is the property located near a river? Are there hills or low spots which may make your home subject to water runoff? Err on the side of caution. Even Mies van der Rohe made a grievous mistake. He placed the Farnsworth House too close to a stream, and his masterpiece suffered serious flood damage as a result.Noise. Is there a nearby airport, highway, or railroad? How disruptive is it? Zoning, Building Codes and More Zoning. In five years, your beautiful views may be replaced by a highway or a housing development. Zoning regulations will indicate what may be legally constructed in the surrounding area.Building Codes. A variety of ordinances will affect the placement of your new home on the lot. Regulations will specify how close you can build to the property line, roads, streams, and lakes.Easements. Easements for electrical and telephone poles will limit the space you have for building your home.Public Utilities. Unless the property is in a development of suburban tract homes, there may not be easy access to electricity, gas, telephone, cable television or public water lines. Sewers. If there are no municipal sewers, youll need to know where you may legally place your septic system. Costs You may be tempted to skimp on the cost of your land so that you can spend more money on building your house. Dont. The cost of altering an unsuitable lot is likely to be more expensive than purchasing land that is meets your needs and your dreams. How much should you spend on a building lot? There are exceptions, but in most communities your land will represent 20% to 25% of your total building costs. Advice From Frank Lloyd Wright Building a house is often the easy part. Making decisions is stressful. In Wrights book The Natural House (Horizon, 1954), the master architect gives this advice on where to build: When selecting a site for your house, there is always the question of how close to the city you should be, and that depends on what kind of slave you are. The best thing to do is go as far out as you can get. Avoid the suburbs- dormitory towns- by all means. Go way out into the country- what you regard as too far- and when others follow, as they will (if procreation keeps up), move on.~p. 134