Immigrants arriving to the United States first had to pass through a reception center. One of these facilities was Ellis Island, which opened in 1892 to replace the former site, Castle Garden. If immigrants were expecting a warm welcome, they were soon corrected. Ellis Island functioned as a “giant filter designed to admit workers for the nation’s growing economy and reject any who might become a burden on taxpayers” (24). Cold and unfriendly officers met the immigrants and escorted them through a series of checks for disease and questions designed to evaluate each person’s suitability; these questions also functioned as an “intelligence” test to eliminate people that the derogatory terminology of the time dismissed as “idiots, imbeciles or morons and other deficient persons” (24). If one member of a family was rejected, the others had to decide whether to return to Europe with them or stay in the United States.

At the time, New York City had a population of 3.5 million people, making it the second-largest city in the world. This population density and growing industry inspired architects to build up, creating skyscrapers. They were able to do this because of new building materials like iron beams and plate glass windows.