Renwick Smallpox Hospital - Part 1

We take a look at the ruins of a forgotten Gothic hospital on Roosevelt Island in New York City

A crumbling ruin is all that's left of the old Smallpox Hospital that used to operate on Roosevelt Island, an island that lies between Manhattan and Queens in New York City. Nowadays, the ruin lies in a park and is lit up by floodlights at night. It's a picturesque shell of the old Gothic building, and is popular with urban explorers, but the story behind it is a fascinating one.

Originally built by James Renwick Jr, the superstar 19th century architect who built St. Patrick's Catherdral in Manhattan, and often called "the Renwick Ruin" these days, the old Smallpox Hospital was built in the 1850s.

At the time, Roosevelt Island (then called Blackwell's Island) was an isolated "haven" for the poor and sick--many wealthy Manhattanites wrote about the picturesque island, more garden than prison. But in reality, the island housed an infamous penitentiary (where William Macy Tweed, aka Boss Tweed, was once held), a workhouse and almshouse for the poor and sick, the infamous New York Lunatic Asylum (where muckraking journalist Nellie Bly got herself admitted to expose the horrific conditions), as well as a few hospitals, including the Smallpox Hospital.

In part 1 of our 2-part look at the ruins of the Smallpox Hospital on Roosevelt Island, we talk about the dark history of the island in the 19th century, the famous architect behind the hospital, and a bit of the history of smallpox in the world and in New York City.

We're coming to you from lockdown in Queens, New York, so we look at how 19th century Blackwell's Island relates to the world today, especially with the current coronavirus crisis. We also daydream about about some paranormal investigations we want to do on Roosevelt Island once we're cleared to hang out again.

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