Smallpox Hospital facts for kids

Smallpox Hospital
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Seen in April 2019
Location in New York City Show map of New York City Location in New York Show map of New York Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Roosevelt Island, Manhattan, New York City
Area	0.9 acres (3,600 m2)
Built	Main building: 1854-56 South wing: 1903-04 North wing: 1904-05
Architect	James Renwick Jr. (main building) York & Sawyer (south wing) Renwick, Aspinwall & Owen (north wing)
Architectural style	Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No.	72000881
Quick facts for kids Significant dates
Added to NRHP	March 16, 1972

The Smallpox Hospital is a famous old building on Roosevelt Island in New York City. It was also known as the Renwick Smallpox Hospital. This hospital was designed by a well-known architect named James Renwick Jr.. It opened in 1856 and could hold 100 patients. Back then, Roosevelt Island was called Blackwell's Island.

About 100 years after it opened, the hospital closed down. The building slowly fell apart and became a ruin. In 1972, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Four years later, it became a New York City Landmark. It is the only ruin in the city with this special landmark status. There are plans to fix up the ruins so people can visit them.

The Hospital Building

The Smallpox Hospital is located at the very southern end of Roosevelt Island. It is right next to Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park. The main part of the building was designed by James Renwick Jr. Later, two wings were added. The south wing was built in 1903-1904 by York & Sawyer. The north wing was added in 1904-1905 by Renwick, Aspinwall & Owen.

When it was finished, the hospital had three floors. It was shaped like a "U" and covered in granite stone. The main part of the building had a hip roof. It also had cool castle-like decorations called crenelated parapets. The two wings had sloped roofs called mansard roofs.

The main entrance is in the middle of the front of the building. It has a porch that is open on three sides. Above the entrance, there is a special window that sticks out, called an oriel window. The main entrance itself is a wide, pointed arch. Even though the building looks like a castle (which is called Gothic Revival style), the windows on the third floor have pointed tops instead of curved ones. This was a bit unusual for that style.

The hospital around 1870

History of the Hospital

Hospital and Nurse Training School

Even though there was a smallpox vaccine, New York City still had many smallpox outbreaks. This was partly because sick immigrants sometimes arrived in the city. The hospital was built on the isolated southern tip of the island. This helped to keep sick people away from others. It had a large area for people who couldn't pay, as well as private rooms on the upper floors.

In 1875, the Smallpox Hospital closed. It then became a training center for nurses. These nurses worked at City Hospital, which was later called Charity Hospital. The original building was designed in the Gothic Revival style. In 1903-1905, two new wings were added. These wings matched the old building's style. They were called the Home for the Nurses and the Maternity and Charity Hospital Training School. This helped make space for more students.

In 1921, Blackwell's Island was renamed Welfare Island. Many buildings there became old and were not used anymore. In the 1950s, both Charity Hospital and the nurses' school closed. Their services moved to new buildings in Queens.

The "Renwick Ruin"

After the hospitals closed, both buildings slowly became ruins. In the 1970s, an architect named Giorgio Cavaglieri looked at them. He made plans to make the walls of the Smallpox Hospital stronger. In 1972, the hospital was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This made it New York City's "only landmarked ruin." In 1973, Welfare Island was renamed Roosevelt Island. It was named after former President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The old hospital is often called the Renwick Ruin. Since 1995, the ruins have been lit up at night. This was done to help raise money to fix the building. However, on December 26, 2007, a part of the north wing fell down. This made fixing the building even more urgent. On May 28, 2009, work began on the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park. This project included plans to make the Smallpox Hospital ruins stable. After a $4.5 million project to make it safe, the Smallpox Hospital ruins will be open for people to visit.

Experts have said that the Smallpox Hospital ruins are very special. They remind us of the past and show a unique style of building. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission said in 1976 that the Smallpox Hospital could become like the famous old castle ruins in England. They compared it to Tintern Abbey, which people have admired for a long time. They also said the building looks like a perfect setting for a romantic story from the 1800s.

The hospital seen from the west in the East River, with the Citicorp Building in Queens in the background (1996)

In Popular Culture

The Smallpox Hospital ruins have appeared in many books, movies, and video games:

• In the book City of Bones, the Renwick Smallpox Hospital was used as a secret hideout. It had a special portal, which was later destroyed.
• A similar hospital ruin is shown in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. This game is set in a made-up city that looks like New York City.
• In the Marvel Comics series Patsy Walker A.K.A. Hellcat, an evil witch took over the hospital.
• The hospital was shown in the 2002 Marvel Comics movie Spider-Man during a big scene at the end.
• The hospital was also in the 1993 movie For Love or Money, starring Michael J. Fox. In the movie, the main character wanted to turn it into a hotel.

See also

In Spanish: Smallpox Hospital para niños