After recording 180 episodes of Greetings From the Garden State, I’ve been lucky enough to visit some of the most iconic, quirky, and deeply meaningful places in New Jersey. But none of them hit quite like the South Side of Ellis Island.
Yes, that Ellis Island. The one you learned about in fourth grade social studies. The one with the wall of names and the etched bronze plaques. The one you probably think belongs entirely to New York.
But what most people don’t realize is that over 80% of Ellis Island actually sits in New Jersey, thanks to a 1998 Supreme Court decision. And on that Jersey side? A stunning stretch of 29 decaying but powerful hospital buildings, once the heart of the nation’s public health effort for immigrants coming to America between 1892 and 1954.
I recently sat down with Jim Dessicino, Creative Director at Save Ellis Island, inside one of those very buildings, specifically, in a room that once served as an end-of-life care ward for patients with contagious diseases. From that room, patients had a direct view of the Statue of Liberty. It was intentional. It was compassionate. And it was deeply American.
Jim’s job is part preservationist, part historian, part artist, and part cultural bridge. A third-generation Italian American from South Jersey, his own story is woven into the fabric of the place he now helps protect. Through Save Ellis Island, he’s on a mission to preserve and reactivate the South Side, not just as a memory of the immigrant journey, but as a living, breathing space for education, storytelling, and art.
And make no mistake—this isn’t some dry, static museum. The Ellis Island hospitals were state-of-the-art for their time. They were built to ensure that America’s new arrivals were healthy enough to enter the country, but they were also grounded in empathy. There were playgrounds. Music. Entertainers brought in for patients. Weekly family visits. Nurses, many who lived on-site, sacrificed personal freedoms to serve patients with tuberculosis, trachoma, and other diseases that would have kept them quarantined for months. Over 350 babies were even born here.
But despite all that history, the South Side remains practically unknown. While millions of visitors pass through the North Side and the Immigration Museum each year, only about 30,000 people visit the South Side annually.
That needs to change.
The Save Ellis Island team is now working to restore these buildings and reimagine them as dynamic spaces for art classes, school field trips, and public storytelling. They’ve already raised $75 million since their founding in 1999—but the cost to fully restore the 29 buildings is estimated to be over $1 billion. And they’re not getting federal funding to do it.
If you’ve ever traced your family roots back through Ellis Island—or even just enjoyed a bagel, a slice of pizza, or a neighborhood with deep immigrant roots, you’re part of this story too.
New Jersey has always been a gateway. A connector. A place where stories begin. Ellis Island is proof of that. But we can’t protect what people don’t know exists. So go. Take the ferry from Liberty State Park. It’s faster, cheaper, and, you guessed it, way more Jersey.
Visit SaveEllisIsland.org to book a tour, donate, or just learn more. And if you’re a teacher, artist, or community organizer, get in touch. There’s room here for your story, too.
Mike Ham is the voice behind the popular podcast, "Greetings From the Garden State". Traveling up and down New Jersey, Mike brings his listeners the stories of the people and places shaping the Garden State. Not only is he a Jersey diehard, he is also a respected member of the podcast community and has spoken at several podcasting conferences. As he continues to amplify the voices of New Jersey, Mike Ham remains a passionate advocate for the diverse narratives woven into the fabric of the Garden State.
- Mike Hamhttps://thedigestonline.com/author/mham/
- Mike Hamhttps://thedigestonline.com/author/mham/
- Mike Hamhttps://thedigestonline.com/author/mham/
- Mike Hamhttps://thedigestonline.com/author/mham/