"A fire of undisclosed origin, possibly faulty wiring, completely destroyed the Georgia pine structures on Ellis Island. No one died, but most of the immigration records dating from 1855 were destroyed. In five years, some 1.5 million immigrants had been processed. While a new, fireproof immigration station was being constructed on Ellis, processing was transferred back to the Barge Office. [On] 17 Dec 1900 The present Main Building opened." source: EllisIsland.org - Ellis Island Timeline
{{Information |Description ={{en|1=First Ellis Island Immigration Station in New York Harbor. Opened January 2, 1892. Completely destroyed by fire on 15 June 1897.}} |Source =Personal image of old stereo photograph |Author =unidentified