View, from passing ferry boat, of the Statue of Liberty, on Bedloe's Island. Scene shifts to view from ferry boat, approaching the slip at the Battery on the tip of Manhattan. Skyscraper buildings in the area are seen clearly.
Plane flies over Washington coast and cloudy skies. Olympic Mountains in background. Islands and rocks on coast. Mount Rainier is seen above low hanging clouds.
From a 1975 production on European immigration to America, with a mix of modern interviews, historical footage circa 1905-1910, and historic still images of immigrants. Elderly immigrant to the United States recalls his experiences. Picture of men with shaved heads having arrived at Ellis Island processing facilities after being sprayed and shaved for decontamination measures. European immigrants aboard ships. Band play music at port as immigrants embark on boats and ships. Animated map connects Hull and Liverpool. Vintage footage of old steam Passenger train as it runs on route from Baltic regions to Liverpool, England carrying European immigrants bound for America. View of Liverpool harbor and port areas. Ships at port in Liverpool. Passengers at railway station. Old man shares his memories of watching immigrants pass through Liverpool. People on horse-drawn carriages in Liverpool streets bound for Lime Street Station. One covered carriage with sign on side "London Northwestern Railway Collecting Van For Fast Train Traffic" passes by on Lime Street with St George's Hall in background. Another more simple carriage has a sign "Lucania" on it. Immigrants in Liverpool aboard ocean liners at dock, including the RMS Lucania (which clarifies this footage as before 1909). Passenger Ocean liner underway in heavy seas. View from ship with waves crashing over bow during heavy seas. Old woman shares her experience aboard the ship then, commenting on problems of seasickness among the immigrant passengers in the forward steerage compartments.
Two new immigrant man are seen on bunks in a tenement in New York City, where the narrator says nine out of ten immigrants arrived in the period from 1880 to 1914. Two women pose, sitting beside a sleeping child in a tenement. An immigrant speaks about the hardship of arriving in a strange land where he did not speak the language and felt "lost." He says he gradually overcame that by going to night school to learn a little English and to read and write. He says he made a nice living as a peddler, and expressed appreciation for the opportunities America gave to immigrants. In the next scene, children enjoy rides on a traveling merry-go-round visiting their neighborhood. The operator runs it manually, by turning a wheel. View of children riding and others watching on the street. Streams of pedestrians crossing a bridge across a busy city street. Pedestrians on sidewalks and horse-drawn wagons and electrified street cars moving on the street in the commercial center of a city. Workers heading home after their shift in a factory. View of workers producing products in a factory. A line of women punching a time clock at their place of work. Women working in a clothing factory. Men standing atop a shipment of steel rails for the building of a railroad. Views of rails being moved into position for a new segment of the railroad. Glimpse of a steam shovel scooping a bucket full of raw material. Black smoke rising from funnel on a steam locomotive, and also from nearby steam shovel. Iron workers on a the wide open upper floors of the 60-story skyscraper Woolworth Building under construction in Lower Manhattan, New York City, in 1911. Pilings being put in place for a new building. Riveters guiding a section of steel column into place for a new building . Views inside a heavy manufacturing plant of the W. E. & M. company in New York City. Their products appear to be large dynamos and motors. View of the Statue of Liberty on Bedloe's Island in New York harbor, with its arm appearing to hold up a full moon.
Shoreline shows a large sign 'Welcome Home'. Bow of the giant ocean liner Queen Mary underway. Tug boats approach Queen Mary. Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island. Views of skyscrapers and skyline of New York City. Ship Queen Mary enters New York harbor. It is filled with U.S. soldiers returning from World War 2 military service in Europe. Queen Mary in Hudson River.
Time lapse view of dawn breaking over Manhattan Island. Skyscrapers in New York City in 1958. People emerging from ferry to dock on their morning commute to work. Men and women pedestrians dressed in 1950s fashions cross streets as taxi cabs and 1950s era cars pass by. A man in coat and hat waiting at a bus stop, with a city bus stopped. Elevated views of pedestrians squeezing between stopped car bumbers at crowded intersections. Pigeons in a park. High Elevated views of pedestrians, traffic, crossroads, buildings, and skyscrapers of Manhattan skyline. Long views of many blocks of Manhattan buildings and streets. Shadows of tall skyscrapers falling across buildings and streets as dusk nears. Lights in skyscraper windows at night. Clouds in the background. Aerials of traffic at night. Timelapse view of sunset and night scenes in Manhattan.
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