Liberty State Park, though located squarely on the east coast, will be celebrating the history of the west coast. Now on display at Liberty State Park?s Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal are two traveling exhibits, Alcatraz: Life on the Rock and Gateway to Gold Mountain, The Asian Immigration Experience: Angel Island 1910-1940, both of which will be on display through June 30.

?We want Liberty State Park to be more of a destination for New Jersey residents and persons from other states who might come through here to see Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, New Jersey?s 9/11 Memorial, the Liberty Science Center, or just some incredible views of New York?s skyline,? said DEP Assistant Commissioner of Natural and Historic Resources Amy Cradic in a statement. ?This is part of the DEP?s overall sustainable parks effort to encourage more tourism to our state parks, forests and historic sites.?

?The Department also is committed to partnering with like-minded groups to provide high-quality, educational exhibits at no cost to New Jersey residents and which can make a visit to Liberty State Park an even more rewarding and enjoyable experience,? Cradic added.

Alcatraz: Life on the Rock investigates history of the infamous inmates of the Alcatraz Island penal facility through four main thematic displays and multiple freestanding components.

?Military History? examines Alcatraz?s role as a Civil War-era fortress and military prison, complete with a citadel cell block replicating a part of the island not traditionally open to visitors. A recreated prison cell is the centerpiece of ?Life on the Inside,? which explores the conditions convicts experienced in Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. A third display looks at a group of American Indians who staged a 19-month political takeover of the island some six years after it closed. And, centering on two spectacular 8- by 12-foot hand painted murals, ?Preserving the Rock? highlights the island?s current status as a national park and shares images of its lush gardens and wildlife.

The second exhibit, Gateway to Gold Mountain, The Asian Immigration Experience, focuses on another famous island in San Francisco Bay. Angel Island was used as an immigration station, welcoming millions of new arrivals to the United States, many from Asian countries. The exhibit examines the experience of these individuals, using images, personal letters, journal entries and poetry to describe their joy and heartbreak during the immigration process. The island also was used as a military installation, serving as a launch point for thousands U.S. servicemen and women headed to battle in the Pacific in World War II.

Both exhibits were created in partnership between the National Park Service and Alcatraz Cruises, a National Park Service concessioner of ferry service to Alcatraz Island.

?New Jersey?s park system is second to none and these intriguing, unique exhibits will help draw even more visitors to Liberty State Park to experience its beauty and potential,? said Grace Hanlon, Executive Director of the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism, in a statement. ?This strong partnership also portrays the diversity New Jersey has to offer its visitors.?

The exhibits come as part of a plan in Trenton to make the park system more sustainable. It costs about $39 million to run the park system annually but parks generate just $8 million through user fees and leases. The sustainable parks plan has a goal of doubling those revenues by the end of 2015, partly by bringing in more users through programs such as the Alcatraz exhibit.
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