For decades, a tiny patch of land in New York Harbour served as the first port of call for those Europeans who had made the long journey across the Atlantic Ocean, in search of the American Dream. Ellis Island – also known as ‘the gate to America’ – processed almost 12 million people through its immigration station. Many of them would have quickly found themselves at the island’s luggage room, where a Mr Peter Mac was responsible for the safe passage of their belongings.

The first immigrants to enter the huge building — with its countless windows, steep roof, and peaked towers, more resembling a seaside casino than an inspection station for the poor — feel the same thing under their feet that they have felt the last few weeks onboard their ships: solid wood. The timber came from North Carolina and Georgia; the floor is pine, seasoned, and the walls are made of green lumber — pine and spruce — so arrivals from villages and towns are greeted by the familiar scent of the forest and home. The Sheridan & Byrne company was supposed to mount stainless metal siding on the exterior walls, but it’s not known if they did so. In light of the events that will soon follow, it seems doubtful.

The building is 400 feet long and 150 feet wide. It is equipped with central steam heating, electricity, and modern bathrooms. Harper’s Weekly writes it can receive 1