A sweeping view of the Angel Island Immigration Station taken in 1915 captures how it appeared during its three decades of operation.

California’s ‘Ellis Island’ was designed to keep Asian immigrants out

The majority of immigrants who passed through California’s immigration station, Angel Island, were from China and Japan—and tens of thousands of them were detained there.

A sweeping view of the Angel Island Immigration Station taken in 1915 captures how it appeared during its three decades of operation. While the exact figure is unknown, as many as 500,000 people passed through here.
James David Givens/Library of Congress
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