The Ellis Island Hard Hat Tour

Most visitors to Ellis Island see only the restored main building and the National Museum of Immigration. Across the ferry basin lies the island's south side, where 29 unrestored buildings once formed the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital. On the Hard Hat Tour, an expert guide leads small groups through corridors, wards and service rooms that have been stabilized but left largely as they were, with photographs from the artist JR's Unframed installation pasted onto the walls. The tour is run by Save Ellis Island, the nonprofit Park Service partner preserving the complex.

Buy Hard Hat Tour tickets through Statue City Cruises, the only ferry allowed to dock at the islands; the ticket includes the round-trip ferry, Liberty Island, the Statue of Liberty Museum and the Ellis Island museum, but not the Statue's interior. Your ticket time is your security screening, and the tour starts about two and a half hours later (an Early Bird option shortens the wait), so plan a full day and check in at the museum's Information Desk. Participants must be at least 13 and able to manage stairs and uneven floors. Book early; spaces are limited.