New York Harbor that contains a museum and former

Post-closure
Initial redevelopment plans

Seen from east. From left to right: contagious diseases ward; lawn; hospital; ferry basin; main building, kitchen, dormitory, and immigration building
After the immigration station closed, the buildings fell into disrepair and were abandoned,^[180] and the General Services Administration (GSA) took over the island in March 1955.^[68] The GSA wanted to sell off the island as "surplus property"^[181] and contemplated several options, including selling the island back to the city of New York^[182] or auctioning it to a private buyer.^[183] In 1959, real estate developer Sol Atlas unsuccessfully bid for the island, with plans to turn it into a $55 million resort with a hotel, marina, music shell, tennis courts, swimming pools, and skating rinks.^[184][185] The same year, Frank Lloyd Wright designed the $100 million "Key Project",^[g] which included housing, hotels, and large domes along the edges. However, Wright died before presenting the project.^[186][187] Other attempts at redeveloping the site, including a college,^[188] a retirement home,^[180] an alcoholics' rehabilitation center,^[189] and a world trade center^[190] were all unsuccessful.^[180][191] In 1963, the Jersey City Council voted to rezone the island's area within New Jersey for high-rise residential, monument/museum, or recreational use, though the new zoning ordinance banned "Coney Island"-style amusement parks.^[192][193]
In June 1964, the National Park Service published making a report that proposed making Ellis Island part of a national monument.^[194] This idea was approved by Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall in October 1964.^[195] Ellis Island was added to the Statue of Liberty National Monument on May 11, 1965,^{[196][2][197]} and that August, President Lyndon B. Johnson approved the redevelopment of the island as a museum and park.^[198][197]
The initial master plan for the redevelopment of Ellis Island, designed by Philip Johnson, called for the construction of the Wall, a large "stadium"-shaped monument to replace the structures on the island's northwest side, while preserving the main building and hospital.^[199][200] However, no appropriations were immediately made, other than a $250,000 allocation for emergency repairs in 1967. By the late 1960s, the abandoned buildings were deteriorating severely.^{[201][202][200]} Johnson's plan was never implemented due to public opposition and a lack of funds.^[200] Another master plan was proposed in 1968, which called for the rehabilitation of the island's northern side and the demolition of all buildings, including the hospital, on the southern side.^[203] The Jersey City Jobs Corpsmen started rehabilitating part of Ellis Island the same year, in accordance with this plan.^[204][203] This was soon halted indefinitely because of a lack of funding.^[203] In 1970, a squatters' club called the National Economic Growth and Reconstruction Organization (NEGRO) started refurbishing buildings as part of a plan to turn the island into an addiction rehabilitation center,^[205] but were evicted after less than two weeks.^[206][207] NEGRO's permit to renovate the island were ultimately terminated in 1973.^[207]