REFLEXÃO E POEMA

 Statue of Liberty National Monument

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

 History of Liberty State

 Park

On the New York Harbor, less than 2,000 feet

 from the Statue of Liberty, Liberty State Park

 has served a vital role in the development of 

New Jersey's metropolitan region and the

 history of the nation.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries the

 area that is now Liberty State Park was a major

 waterfront industrial area with an extensive

 freight and passenger transportation network. 

This network became the lifeline of New York 

City and the harbor area. The heart of this

 transportation network was the Central Railroad 

of New Jersey Terminal (CRRNJ), located in the

 northern portion of the park. The CRRNJ 

Terminal stands with the Statue of Liberty and

 Ellis Island to unfold one of this nation's most 

dramatic stories: the immigration of northern,

 southern, and eastern Europeans into the

 United States. After being greeted by the 

Statue of Liberty and processed at Ellis Island,

 these immigrants purchased tickets and boarded

 trains, at the CRRNJ Terminal, that took them

 to their new homes throughout the United States.

 The Terminal served these immigrants as the

 gateway to the realization of their hopes and

 dreams of a new life in America.

Today, Liberty State Park continues to serve a

 vital role in the New York Harbor area. As the

 railroads and industry declined, the land was

 abandoned and became a desolate dump site.

 With the development of Liberty State Park

 came a renaissance of the waterfront. Land

 with decaying buildings, overgrown tracks 

and piles of debris was transformed into a

 modern urban state park. The park was

 formerly opened on Flag Day, June 14, 1976,

 as New Jersey's bicentennial gift to the nation.

 Most of this 1,122 acre park is open space 

with approximately 300 acres developed for

 public recreation