Smallpox Hospital

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Ruins of Smallpox Hospital, 2007
Smallpox Hospital, entrance front (in the background: One Court Square )
Detail view of the ruins of the Smallpox Hospital

The Smallpox Hospital (German: Pockenkrankenhaus; sometimes referred to as Renwick Smallpox Hospital and later as Maternity and Charity Hospital Training School ) is an abandoned hospital on Roosevelt Island in New York City . The hospital with 100 beds was designed by architect James Renwick Jr. designed. It opened in 1856 when the island was still called Blackwell's Island.

The hospital closed a century after it opened. The building then fell into disrepair. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and designated a New York City Landmark four years later. It is the only ruin in the city that is on the city's list of monuments. After the ruin was stabilized for $ 4.5 million, it was opened for viewing in 2009.

building

The building is located in an otherwise undeveloped area on the southern tip of the island. It is a three-storey building with nine bays and a U-shaped floor plan . The facade consists of a granite facing , which is laid out in an irregular ashlar masonry and conceals the quarry stone masonry of the load-bearing walls. The central section originally had a gabled roof with a vorgekragten with battlements provided parapet to the protruding yokes and a simple cornice to the non-protruding yokes. Polygonal tinned chimneys sit on the southeast side of the main wing. The two side wings are attached to the ends of the northwest facade, the front, and originally had mansard roofs .

The main entrance is in the center of the front facade. It has a veranda open on three sides , bay windows above and a crenellated projection above the eaves. The main entrance is housed in a wide pointed arch. Although the building in neo-Gothic style was designed, all the windows in the second are floor with gable - instead of pointed arches equipped, which is unusual for this style.

history

The hospital around 1870

Despite the availability of a smallpox vaccine , New York City experienced even larger epidemics of the disease in the mid-19th century, due in part to the arrival of infected immigrants. The hospital was built in isolation on the southern tip of the island to quarantine patients. The hospital was closed in 1875 and converted into a nurse training center at City Hospital , later the Charity Hospital. Renwick designed the building in the neo-Gothic style and from 1903-1905 the two side wings, which were designed in the same way, were added to accommodate the increasing number of nurses in training under the name Home for the Nurses and the Maternity and Charity Hospital Training School . In response to the island's changed uses, Blackwell's Island was renamed Welfare Island in 1921, and many of the structures on the island began to deteriorate after being no longer in use. In the 1950s, both the Charity Hospital and the nursing school closed as the facility moved to new premises in Queens .

Both buildings fell into ruins . In the 1970s they were inspected by architect Giorgio Cavaglieri , who made plans to reinforce the walls of Smallpox Hospital. The hospital ruin was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and is the only listed ruin in New York City after the City Hospital was demolished. A year later, in 1973, Welfare Island was given its current name Roosevelt Island in honor of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt . The building remains, often referred to as Renwick Ruin , have been illuminated at night since 1995, also to help raise funds to maintain the structure. Nevertheless, on December 26, 2007, part of the north wing collapsed, making the necessary conservation measures more urgent. On May 28, 2009, construction work began on a new park on Roosevelt Island. This $ 4.5 million project includes conservation measures for Smallpox Hospital, a memorial dedicated to Franklin D. Roosevelt and a 5½-  acre public park.

Web links

Commons : Renwick Smallpox Hospital  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c David W. Dunlap: A Roosevelt Island Ruin Sinks Further Into Decay (English) . In: The New York Times , January 5, 2008. Retrieved December 2, 2009. 
  2. ↑ a b c Timeline of Roosevelt Island History ( English ) In: NYC10044.com . The Main Street WIRE . Archived from the original on May 17, 2009. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 29, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / nyc10044.com
  3. ↑ a b c RICHARD PYLE: NY opening old smallpox hospital to public . opacity.us. May 28, 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
  4. ^ A b David W. Dunlap: Shoring Up a Landmark Ruin on Roosevelt Island (English) . In: New York Times , April 14, 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2010. 
  5. ↑ a b Ellen Rose Brook: National Register of Historic Places nomination, Smallpox Hospital . New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation . June 15, 1971. Retrieved January 30, 2009.
  6. ↑ a b c d e Smallpox Hospital (Renwick ruin) ( English ) In: rihs.us . Roosevelt Island Historical Society. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  7. ^ NEW YORK - New York County - Vacant / Not In Use . National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  8. ^ Gregory Beyer: Roosevelt Island - Signs of Progress for a Memorial Deferred on Roosevelt Island (English) . In: New York Times , January 23, 2009. Retrieved January 30, 2010. 
  9. ↑ Christopher Gray: Preserving a Ruin on Roosevelt Island Proves Costly ( English ) New York Times. September 22, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  10. ^ Brendan Brosh: Preservationists say 3M needed to save Roosevelt Island Smallpox hospital ( English ) New York Daily News. February 18, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2010.

Coordinates: 40 ° 45 ′ 6 "  N , 73 ° 57 ′ 36"  W.