At the Northeastern corner of Angel Island, barracks were set up to operate as an "immigration station" in 1910.

s San Francisco's legendary fog rolls in and out of San Francisco Bay each day, Angel Island Immigration Station lays deteriorating. Years of neglect have taken their toll on one of this country's most poignant and moving historic sites, located just off the shores of San Francisco.

Angel Island was a major port of entry to the U.S. for immigrants from the Pacific Rim between 1910 and 1940. It is estimated that more than 200,000 Chinese and 150,000 Japanese, among thousands of other immigrant populations, came through Angel Island Immigration Station, which was built in 1910. It was a detainment center for immigrating Chinese, who were subject to the discriminatory Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the only U.S. immigration legislation excluding a specific ethnic group from entry into this country. Angel Island was used as the main Pacific Coast detention camp for prisoners of war during World War I and World War II.

Bunks in Detention Barracks in 1910.

The historical significance of Angel Island Immigration Station is most vividly expressed through poetry written on its walls. Over a thirty-year period, Chinese immigrants inscribed their hopes and fears on the walls of the detention barracks. Along with writings in Japanese, Russian, Arabic, East Indian, German and English, these inscriptions provide a one-of-a-kind, firsthand record of the immigrant experience.

In the 1960's, the Immigration Station was slated for destruction. Discovery of the carved poetry, and subsequent activism by a small group in the San Francisco Asian community, caused California State Parks to begin efforts to protect the site as a valuable cultural resource. In the 1970's, roof leaks and broken windows were repaired. Years of neglect had exposed the inscriptions to weathering, leaving many of the poems faded and barely legible. Seismic and foundation work was done to stabilize the Detention Barracks, but little interior work was done and only exterior work has been done to the other buildings at the site. The second floor of the detention barracks is closed to the public due to concerns over the building's structural stability and over issues of accessibility and safety. Likewise, the Immigration Station hospital and power plant are locked up, their interiors in ruinous disrepair. Since stopgap rehabilitation work was performed in 1976, only emergency stabilization work has occurred. Without immediate repair and conservation, Angel Island Immigration Station will be lost.

Related Resources

Angel Island Home Page

The official Angel Island Website includes information on tourism and the history of the Immigration Station, as well as the island’s natural history, native inhabitants, plants and animals.

 

Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (ISF)

One of ISF's primary goals is to lead the preservation, renovation, and development efforts of the Angel Island Immigration Station as an interpretive site for Pacific Rim immigration. This Web site presents a pictorial history of Chinese people at Angel Island.

 

Angel Island Journeys Remembered by Chinese Houstonians

An oral history of Chinese immigrant detainees by Lydia Lum.

 

Angel Island: the Pacific Gateway

A brief history of Angel Island from 1910 through the present, beautifully illustrated with vintage photographs.

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