New York City was the gateway to America for countless new immigrants over the 19th and 20th centuries. However, not many people know that part of this legacy is still rotting away on Ellis Island.

Read on to learn more about the site, and check out the haunting images photographer Cory Seamer captured at this abandoned island hospital.

Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital opened in 1902.
Flickr/Cory Seamer
It was the first public health hospital in America.
Flickr/Cory Seamer
The original complex was comprised of a general hospital and a quarantined pavilion for contagious disease victims.
Flickr/Cory Seamer
New immigrants who were thought to be ill or potentially carrying diseases were detained at this hospital.
Flickr/Cory Seamer
Patients would either be released after they recovered or sent back to their home countries if they were ultimately deemed too sick or contagious to enter the United States.
Flickr/Cory Seamer
Cholera was a major issue at the time the hospital opened.
Flickr/Cory Seamer
Large numbers of deaths occurred on the ships themselves, and it was necessary to quarantine surviving passengers.
Flickr/Cory Seamer

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Upon arrival, each passenger would undergo a 30-second health inspiration.
Flickr/Cory Seamer
If they were give with a chalk mark on their clothing, they were usually sent to the hospital.
Flickr/Cory Seamer
Entire families would sometimes be sent back across the ocean or permanently separated due to the health requirements.
Flickr/Cory Seamer
The hospital was built on the island due to the incorrect theory that germs couldn’t travel across open water.
Flickr/Cory Seamer
Today, the south side of the island, including the hospital, is off-limits to the public.
Flickr/Cory Seamer
However, visitors can still see the hospital on small group hard hat tours.
Flickr/Cory Seamer
Over 12 million immigrants were processed at the Ellis Island Immigration Center. The complex remains one of the largest public health hospitals ever constructed.
Flickr/Cory Seamer
Efforts are ongoing to save the hospital from collapse or demolition.
Flickr/Cory Seamer

Thanks again to photographer Cory Seamer for the fantastic images. Check out more of his work here.

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