Discovering Angel Island: The Story Behind the Poems

From 1910 to 1940, tens of thousands of immigrants entered the United States through the West Coast's Angel Island Immigration Station. Located in San Francisco's north bay, not far from Alcatraz Island, the buildings were nearly forgotten and their history practically lost, until one day Alexander Weiss, a California State Park Ranger, re-discovered them in 1970. His chance discovery began the long journey to save the Immigration Station, and ultimately, to save the stories hidden within it, and to help us remember its sad, but important role in American history.