Statue of Liberty Congress officially renamed Bedloe's Island as Liberty Island, a change advocated by Bartholdi generations earlier. The act also mentioned the efforts to found an American Museum of Immigration on the island, which backers took as federal approval of the project, though the government was slow to grant funds for it. Nearby Ellis Island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument by proclamation of President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. In 1972, the immigration museum, in the statue's base, was finally opened in a ceremony led by President Richard Nixon. The museum's backers never provided it with an endowment
Bartholdi Park purpose to this day. While once having its beds planted in a formal, classical style to facilitate public gatherings, the gardens have been continually redesigned to reflect modern American horticulture and to allow the addition of new plants. In 1985, the park was renamed to Bartholdi Park, after Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Bartholdi fountain in the center of the park. Recently the park has begun a redesign to become a part of the Sustainable Sites Initiative pilot project. This will include the addition of a demonstration garden for homeowners that will have a focus on creating self