Angel Island Immigration Station: Enhancing Interpretation Through Dialogue

FAIN: TA-303968-25

Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (San Francisco, CA 94103-3202)
Danielle Wetmore (Project Director: June 2024 to present)

Development of a dialogue-based interpretive strategy for Angel Island, the largest immigration station on the West Coast between 1910 and 1940.  

Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF) respectfully requests $25,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Public Impact Projects at Smaller Organizations. The proposed project will enhance public interpretation at the Angel Island Immigration Station, a National Historic Landmark. Located in the San Francisco Bay, Angel Island was the site of the largest immigration station on the West Coast. In operation from 1910 to 1940, over 1million people from 88 different countries were processed or detained there. The project will support the development of a new interpretive strategy for the site’s exhibits, programs, and tours based on increased and consistent use of dialogic approaches. The project will include a review of current interpretive strategies, a community assessment, development of an interpretive theory of change; training in dialogic interpretation for all staff and volunteers; and technical assistance to support ongoing implementation.