An 18th-century scene shows immigrants arriving in the New World, representing the general experience of settlers disembarking from ships with all their worldly possessions and ready to begin life anew in a new homeland. The work is a sgraffito, from an Italian word meaning "to scratch," a technique used in Europe since classical times, common in Italy in the 16th century, and brought to Germany by Renaissance master builders and artisans. It became predominant in Bavaria, Germany, especially on housing facades, and can be made in plaster or with oil or acrylic paints. The process uses layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colors applied to a moistened surface, with the desired colors revealed by scratching down to the needed layer. Heinz Gaugel, who completed the Behalt Cyclorama in 1992, created this work in the summer and late fall of 1993 by preparing a master print on a grid, applying five layers of stucco plaster, and working one grid section at a time with homemade tools, each section needing completion within three hours before the plaster dried or had to be removed and reapplied. It was unveiled and dedicated at a special ceremony with Ohio State Representative Ralph Regula as guest speaker.