Ellis Island Immigration Museum is to reopen its doors to the public on 28 October 2013 for the first time since Hurricane Sandy submerged the island last year.

The museum is expected to remain a work in progress until the spring of 2014, however visitors are being welcomed back to once again explore the halls of the immigration centre where at least 12 million people began their lives in America.

Some of the exhibitions that are to be open include the Great Hall, where immigrants were inspected, as well as Journeys: Peopling of America 1550-1890, which documents the state of immigration in America prior to the operation of the Ellis Island Immigration Centre.

Despite the museum being open to the public, repair works will still continue on an entirely new electrical system and an air conditioning system for climate control to help preserve the museum’s documents and artifacts.

When the hurricane hit last year, the whole island was submerged under water, with the storm surge destroying the museum’s integral electrical, communications, heating and cooling systems.

The reintroduction of the museum comes after the successful reopening of the Statue of Liberty on 4 July, following work from both The National Park Service, The Statue of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation and Save Ellis Island, with all having strived to enhance and improve operations in the area.