On February 15, 2009, over 1,600 people braved high winds and pouring rain to attend the Dedication Ceremony.  After three and one half years since the National Historic Landmark was closed for restoration work and the infusion of $15 million in state bond funds, the US. Immigration Station, Angel Island is now open to the public.

Several dignitaries were on hand to mark the occasion.  Those persons included:  Ruth Coleman, director of California State Parks; Cynthia Garrett, superintendent of National Park Service’s Ellis Island Immigration Station, who announced a new “sister park” status between the two key immigration sites; and Kathy Lim Ko, president of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation.  In addition, the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China, Gao Zhangshen, stationed in San Francisco, was present to honor the memory of the thousands who came from China.

Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997, the U.S. Immigration Station, Angel Island was the entry point for over 1 million immigrants, many of whom came from Asia, between 1910 and 1940.  Chinese immigrants were the largest group, and they endured lengthy stays due to rigorous interrogations by officials to authenticate legal entrants.

For the first time ever, after extensive repairs and restoration work, the public saw all rooms of the immigration station barracks.  As visitors toured the barracks, they encountered cultural performances and heard a new soundscape designed by Felicia Lowe.  The newly created and dramatic living-history displays showed how immigrants lived in detention behind barred windows and doors for weeks and months.  The bunks have been outfitted with clothing, artifacts, luggage and personal items that reflect the nationalities of the tens of thousands of people who passed through the station.