In 2021, urban explorer Andrew Wonder made a late night visit to Roosevelt Island and took us inside the Renwick Ruins Smallpox hospital. Follow along.
NBC New York reporter Ryan Baker visited the Roosevelt Island Smallpox Hospital Ruins earlier this year. He
reports on the fascinating history of the Smallpox Hospital and a
possible future use of the site being proposed by Friends Of The Ruins as a Memorial to:
... those we lost to COVID-19 as well as scientific advances and the frontline workers fighting viral and infectious disease....
Learn more about the mysteries of the Roosevelt Island Smallpox Hospital and Friends Of The Ruins proposed memorial from this prior post.
NBC New York reporter Ryan Baker recently visited the Roosevelt Island Smallpox Hospital Ruins. He reports on the fascinating history of the Smallpox Hospital and a possible future use of the site being proposed by Friends Of The Ruins as a Memorial to:
... those we lost to COVID-19 as well as scientific advances and the frontline workers fighting viral and infectious disease....
Learn more about the mysteries of the Roosevelt Island Smallpox Hospital and Friends Of The Ruins proposed memorial from this prior post.
In the new Bowery Boys podcast, the mystery behind the Renwick Ruin, the stunning, crumbling landmark on Roosevelt Island with a truly disturbing history. With so much transformation on this historic island, how did it manage to survive? (Photo: Jake-toth) https://t.co/upnJmJqK6hpic.twitter.com/uS7RUI2h6g
— The Bowery Boys Podcast (@BoweryBoys) June 3, 2022
The Renwick Ruin, resembling an ancient castle lost to time, appears along the East River as a crumbling, medieval-like apparition, something not quite believable....
... In 1856 the island added a Smallpox Hospital to its notorious roster, designed by acclaimed architect James Renwick Jr (of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral fame) in a Gothic Revival style that captivates visitors to this day — even if the building is in an advanced state of dilapidation....
... What makes the Renwick Ruin so entrancing? How did this marvelous bit of architecture manage to survive in any form into present day?
PLUS: The grand story of the island — from a hideous execution in 1829 to the modern delights of one of New York City’s most interesting neighborhoods...
... Recently released is the new short film Unforgotten: Renwick Ruin by
artist Aaron Asis, Untapped New York’s Artist in Residence. Asis and his team
at Green Ghost Studios were given special access inside the abandoned
structure and the film showcases perspectives of the Renwick ruin that are
rarely seen by the public. We’ll be hosting a premiere of the film in our
upcoming event, Unforgotten: The Renwick Ruin on July 15th, featuring Asis and
Stephen Martin, Founder of Friends of the Ruin and the former Director of
Design & Planning for FDR Four Freedoms Park Conservancy....
New film takes viewers inside the Renwick smallpox hospital ruin on Roosevelt Island. See it first here: https://t.co/k6iDYGzCDA
Stephen Martin, who once worked
as the director of design & planning for
Four Freedoms Park Conservancy, recently began
Friends of the Ruin, a
non profit whose mission is to stabilize the Smallpox Hospital ruin and return
the building, which has been fenced off for over seventy years, to Roosevelt
Island in the form of public park space. The organization envisions a
stabilized ruin, beautifully landscaped and open to the public, free of
charge, year round.
According to Mr. Martin:
The Roosevelt Island Historical Society, the Roosevelt Island Operating
Corporation, and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and
Historic Preservation have been wonderfully supportive. Friends of the
Ruin considers them partners in its mission.
As part of an ongoing educational component to the organization's mission,
Friends of the Ruin has been working with the Williamsburg High School for
Architecture and Design (WHSAD), a Brooklyn blue ribbon public high school
focused on architectural drafting, design principles, and historic
preservation. WHSAD students, under the instruction of historic
preservation firm Walter B. Melvin Architects, have spent the past five
years studying Roosevelt Island, James Renwick, Jr. (architect of the
Smallpox Hospital), and the ruin. After months of design charettes,
critiques, and mood-boarding, students will often envision a renewed ruin
as public housing, a high end retail experience, or a weekend party
space.
Friends of the Ruin welcomes the students' enthusiasm but hopes the
building could be permanently stabilized and opened to the public as a
wild, landscaped (and safe) gothic ruin. The building (our City's only
landmark ruin) was once a hospital to fight a devastating epidemic and
also served as a nursing school training New York's frontline health care
workers.
It is the nonprofit's goal that the Ruin will serve, in the form of public
park space, to memorialize the science, medical advances, and frontline
workers fighting viral and infectious disease, including COVID-19, SARS,
HIV/AIDS and many other diseases. We believe it is hard to imagine a more
fitting site for this than in our country's first hospital dedicated to
the smallpox epidemic, and on the historically rich Roosevelt Island.
Here's the March 16, 2021 presentation made by
Friends of the Ruin
Founder Stephen Martin to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Board of Directors about proposed Public Health Memorial to be built at a
renovated Smallpox Hospital.
... Recently released is the new short film Unforgotten: Renwick Ruin by
artist Aaron Asis, Untapped New York’s Artist in Residence. Asis and his team
at Green Ghost Studios were given special access inside the abandoned
structure and the film showcases perspectives of the Renwick ruin that are
rarely seen by the public. We’ll be hosting a premiere of the film in our
upcoming event, Unforgotten: The Renwick Ruin on July 15th, featuring Asis and
Stephen Martin, Founder of Friends of the Ruin and the former Director of
Design & Planning for FDR Four Freedoms Park Conservancy....
New film takes viewers inside the Renwick smallpox hospital ruin on Roosevelt Island. See it first here: https://t.co/k6iDYGzCDA
Stephen Martin, who once worked
as the director of design & planning for
Four Freedoms Park Conservancy, recently began
Friends of the Ruin, a
non profit whose mission is to stabilize the Smallpox Hospital ruin and return
the building, which has been fenced off for over seventy years, to Roosevelt
Island in the form of public park space. The organization envisions a
stabilized ruin, beautifully landscaped and open to the public, free of
charge, year round.
According to Mr. Martin:
The Roosevelt Island Historical Society, the Roosevelt Island Operating
Corporation, and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and
Historic Preservation have been wonderfully supportive. Friends of the
Ruin considers them partners in its mission.
As part of an ongoing educational component to the organization's mission,
Friends of the Ruin has been working with the Williamsburg High School for
Architecture and Design (WHSAD), a Brooklyn blue ribbon public high school
focused on architectural drafting, design principles, and historic
preservation. WHSAD students, under the instruction of historic
preservation firm Walter B. Melvin Architects, have spent the past five
years studying Roosevelt Island, James Renwick, Jr. (architect of the
Smallpox Hospital), and the ruin. After months of design charettes,
critiques, and mood-boarding, students will often envision a renewed ruin
as public housing, a high end retail experience, or a weekend party
space.
Friends of the Ruin welcomes the students' enthusiasm but hopes the
building could be permanently stabilized and opened to the public as a
wild, landscaped (and safe) gothic ruin. The building (our City's only
landmark ruin) was once a hospital to fight a devastating epidemic and
also served as a nursing school training New York's frontline health care
workers.
It is the nonprofit's goal that the Ruin will serve, in the form of public
park space, to memorialize the science, medical advances, and frontline
workers fighting viral and infectious disease, including COVID-19, SARS,
HIV/AIDS and many other diseases. We believe it is hard to imagine a more
fitting site for this than in our country's first hospital dedicated to
the smallpox epidemic, and on the historically rich Roosevelt Island.
Here's the March 16, 2021 presentation made by
Friends of the Ruin
Founder Stephen Martin to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Board of Directors about proposed Public Health Memorial to be built at a
renovated Smallpox Hospital.
Right in between Manhattan and Queens lives a little island called Roosevelt Island. This island is a historically residential area but in the past has been home to an important Smallpox hospital for NYC.
The Youth Channel is a production from Manhattan Neighborhood Network's Youth Media Center. The YMC has a mission to develop 21st-century communicators and critical thinkers and provides New York City youth with high-quality media production education classes and training programs to encourage critical analysis of local, national and international social justice issues; community activism; and personal and professional development.
The Youth Channel is cablecast Monday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on MNN Channel 4. Learn more at http://www.mnn.org/youtheducation.
Here's more on the Roosevelt Island Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital from this 2017 video
Just wondering how the stabilization work on the Smallpox Hospital is going and when it might be completed and open to the public. Can you direct me to an information source? Thanks very much.
SUSAN: In the summer of 2017, RIOC applied to the NYS Environmental Fund for a $500,000 grant (the maximum allowed under that program) to undertake planning and create construction drawings for stabilization. A previously-completed schematic design report concluded that the stabilization costs were estimated to be approximately $20 million. RIOC and all our public officials believe we should save the Smallpox Hospital.
Last year, we visited with NYS Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul and discussed several potential ideas for the future of the Smallpox Hospital. Is the greater community ready for a $20 million fund-raising challenge which should start sooner rather than later?
Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President Susan Rosenthal reported to the March 23 RIOC Board of Directors meeting on current projects including:
Seawall railings replacement - start construction in June,
Sportspark announcement regarding opening hopefully by Monday or Tuesday,
Blackwell House renovation Request For Proposal (RFP) posted,
Tram Platforms renovation (both Manhattan and Roosevelt Island stations)
Rat problems at Roosevelt Island Youth Center,
Youth Center Building Renovation,
Youth Center Operator RFP being revised with assistance of NY State Office of Children & Family Services,
Renwick Ruins Scaffolding To Repair Falling Cornice and
Final Report coming soon on status of Renwick Ruins condition commissioned by FDR Park (estimated cost of stabilizing Ruins is $20 Million)
Here's Ms. Rosenthal's report to the RIOC Board (Part 1)
Part 2:
Tram Elevator RFP - creating glossy brochures and exploring personal contacts seeking contractors,
Roosevelt Island Public Space Water - It's safe,
New BBQ's, picnic tables and benches, and water fountains,
Motorgate Gallery Art Gallery Opening and
Renwick Ruins Stabilization and future plans for re-purposing.
Complete the Community Survey about Southpoint Open Space TODAYbefore it closes at midnight!
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And don't forget to mark your calendar for our upcoming Planning and Design Charrette on Saturday, July 23rd! More information, including a detailed schedule and location, can be viewed on the website by clicking here: http://www.southpointcommunityplan.com/public-meetings/
For more information and to learn about more opportunities to get involved, visit the project website by clicking here: www.SouthpointCommunityPlan.com
It's close to blasphemy in some Roosevelt Island circles, but common sense demands that we take a hard look at the pile of rubble, known variously as the Renwick Ruins, the Smallpox Hospital or a combination of both, scaring the southend of Southpoint before pouring more hundreds of thousands of dollars into it with no other goal than "public access."
Ms McAleavy recounts tales by author Charles Dickens (visiting in 1842) and journalist Nelly Bly (1887 10 Days In A Madhouse Investigative Report) of their horrific visits to Roosevelt Island, then named Blackwell's Island.
Ms McAleavy returns to present day Roosevelt Island adding that many current residents, their pets and visitors encounter inexplicable incidents and paranormal activity, perhaps a remnant from the past.
If you are Steve Duncan, a determined urban explorer, you come to Roosevelt Island, climb over the locked Southpoint Park gate, get on your belly and crawl underneath a fence and show us this up close and personal view of the Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital.
There are no current plans to destroy the Roosevelt Island Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital. The FDR Four Freedoms Park has talked about eventually rehabbing the Ruins for use as their visitors center. Other ideas include a restaurant inside the rehabbed space.
The Horse Flies are an American alternative rock/folk band, founded in the late 1970s under the name 'Tompkins County Horseflies' by husband and wife Jeff Claus and Judy Hyman, along with Richie Stearns and John Hayward.
The four original members of the Horse Flies emerged from the old-time music scene and, in collaboration with percussionist Taki Masuko and keyboardist/accordionist Peter Dodge, would develop their unique sound by twining old-time fiddle tunes with modern art/alt rock influences and world folk music traditions.
Songs by Claus and Stearns included surreal elements that simultaneously evoke Appalachian imagery and the alienated perspective British and American indie rock bands of the 1980s. This link was perhaps most explicit in their reworking of the Cramps' "Human Fly," the title cut of the Horseflies' first album. Claus's homage to their adopted hometown of Ithaca, New York, "I Live Where It's Grey" recalls early Talking Heads and Devo, but the mechanical precision is executed on traditional acoustic instruments. Stearns' adaptation of the lullaby "Hush Little Baby" transforms it into a series of heartfelt promises from someone who has little, but offers everything...
In 1989, Horseflies made a music video of Hush Little Baby inside Roosevelt Island's abandoned Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital and at Southpoint Park.
Don't be frightened of the huge butterflies because they are part of a public art project being proposed by Kathleen Griffin titled "Butterflies of Memory":
“Butterflies of Memory” is a public sculpture on the site of the collapsed Smallpox Hospital Ruins, Roosevelt Island, Manhattan. 10 foot diameter gold butterflies will fly above the Ruins, visually carrying the building away. Installed summer 2013, the installation will be viewable from the Midtown Waterfront and the FDR highway, thus bringing an image of inspiration and beauty to over 2 million New Yorkers.
You are invited to a special event at the Waldorf Astoria on the 3rd floor at Couture Fashion Week. For the first time the public will have an opportunity to meet Kathleen Griffin, the artist, of the 3rd largest public art sculpture in New York City, which will be unveiled Summer 2013. “Butterflies of Memory” will showcase 17 giant gold butterflies, each with a 13 foot wingspan; will fly up to 36 feet above the Smallpox Hospital Ruins on Roosevelt Island, visually carrying off the building. This sculpture will be viewable from Roosevelt Island, the Midtown Waterfront and the FDR highway, thus bringing an image of inspiration and beauty to over 4 million New Yorkers.
More information on the Butterflies of Memories event at the Waldorf available at Black Tie Magazine.
The Preservation League of New York State has named Manhattan's former Smallpox Hospital, located on Roosevelt Island, to its list of the Empire State's most threatened historic resources, Seven to Save.
James Renwick designed the Smallpox Hospital on Roosevelt Island, which was completed in 1854. In 1976, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission referred to the Hospital as a "great Gothic ruin" and noted its incorporation into plans to develop a park on the south end of Roosevelt Island.
A portion of the northernmost wall collapsed in 2007, serving as a wake-up call for immediate and necessary stabilization, a project championed by a colleague organization of the Preservation League, The New York Landmarks Conservancy.
The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC), owner of the Smallpox Hospital, commissioned a stabilization plan for the site, although only had funds to complete phase one of the proposed three-phase stabilization.
"Since 1999, Seven to Save has mobilized community leaders and decision-makers to take action when historic resources are threatened," said Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League. "A Seven to Save designation from the League delivers invaluable technical assistance, fosters increased media coverage and public awareness, and opens the door to grant assistance for endangered properties."
The Four Freedoms Park Conservancy nominated the Smallpox Hospital to the Seven to Save list in recognition of the site's importance and location between a future Cornell University applied sciences campus to the north and the soon-to-be-completed Louis Kahn-designed Four Freedoms Park to the hospital's south. The park conservancy wishes to see a completed feasibility study for adaptive use of the Smallpox Hospital, as well as additional site stabilization.
"The Smallpox Hospital ruin is important architecture, important to the island's history, and has a beauty and presence that will enhance the new Four Freedoms Park," said Peg Breen, President of the New York Landmarks Conservancy. "It deserves complete stabilization."
According to Gina Pollara, Executive Director, Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, "FDR Four Freedoms Park Conservancy looks forward to working with our advocacy groups as well as all our State and City agencies to preserve the Smallpox Hospital, as we recognize it takes the collaborative energies and devoted support of many constituencies to safeguard our architectural heritage."
The inclusion of the Smallpox Hospital on the Seven to Save list provides the opportunity for the League to work with local advocates to protect the complex. "With this program, we provide targeted support to seven of New York's most important and endangered historic resources," said Erin Tobin, the Preservation League's eastern regional director for technical and grant programs. "Whether sites are threatened by insensitive, ineffective or insufficient public policies, general neglect, or, in some cases, outright demolition, we have a proven record of working with community advocates to save a number of significant properties."
The 2012-13 Seven to Save Designees are: The Smallpox Hospital, New York; The South Village, New York; The IRT Powerhouse, New York; The Garnerville Arts and Industrial Center (GAGA Arts Center), Rockland County; Historic & Cultural Resources in the Marcellus and Utica Shale Gas Regions; Bent's Opera House, Medina, Orleans County; and Knox Farm State Park, East Aurora, Erie County.
Since 1999, publicity and advocacy resulting from Seven to Save designation has led to the rehabilitation and reopening of the Oswego City Public Library, the rebirth of Montauk Manor on Long Island, and the rededication of the once-abandoned George Harvey Justice Building in Binghamton along with successes at several other locations.
The Preservation League of New York State is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1974. The League invests in people and projects that champion the essential role of preservation in community revitalization, sustainable economic growth, and the protection of New York's historic buildings and landscapes. It leads advocacy, economic development, and education programs all across the state.
Reported last April on Travel Channel's Off Limits program visiting Roosevelt Island's Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital with Roosevelt Island Historical Society (RIHS) President Judy Berdy. Here the segment that appeared last spring.
... The original Smallpox Hospital – without the north and south wings which are later additions — was built in 1854-56 and designed by James Renwick, Jr. It was first opened for public inspection on December 18, 1856. When the old buildings were destroyed by fire, patients had to be transferred to the new hospital which was not yet completely ready. Nevertheless, the Resident Physician, William Sanger, reported that the new building was “admirable,” and opinion also voiced by the professional staff during the following years. The Smallpox Hospital accommodated one hundred patients with charity cases in wards on the lower floors and a series of private rooms a the upper stories for paying patients. In 1875 the Board of Health assumed control of the Smallpox Hospital which had previously been administered by the Commission of Charities and Correction and was converted to a Home for the Nurses and the Maternity and Charity Hospital Training School. This school, established in 1875, was associated with Charity Hospital (later City Hospital), located just north of the Smallpox Hospital. As the training program expanded, a residence for the student nurses became necessary. The Smallpox Hospital became available for this purpose after a new hospital for the treatment of smallpox and other contagious diseases was built on North Brothers Island. this also had the effect of reducing the danger of the spread of the disease to the Blackwell’s Island population, which by the end of the century numbered some seven thousand....
You can't get the inside tour of the Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital that the folks from Off Limits received but you can get close up to it at Roosevelt Island's new Southpoint Park recently reopened last summer.
Roosevelt Island photographer and Photo Blogger at Olya's Urban Journal Olya Turcihin shares this stunning and spooky image of the Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital in Southpoint Park and the eerie sky above it.
Did anyone notice that the Aerial View Video Rendering for the Roosevelt Island Cornell Technion Engineering School Campus did not include the Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital. A reader of this Beta Beat article noticed and was concerned that the Smallpox Hospital ruins would be lost to make way for the new school.
yes, definitely referring to the SmallPox Hospital .. my favorite part of any drive down the FDR
Image from this You Tube Video Artist Rendering of Cornell/Technion (Renwick Ruins Should Be To Right of Campus Pictured)
There is no need to worry that the Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital will be removed for the Cornell/Technion School. The Southpoint Park Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital is not part of the current Goldwater Hospital site that is the planned location for the Cornell/Technion School. Below is aerial view of new Southpoint Park with Renwick Ruins on right.
Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens and is jurisdictionally part of Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to the rest of Manhattan, has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.
The Purpose of this Blog is to provide accurate and timely information about Roosevelt Island as well as a forum for residents to express opinions and engage in a dialogue to improve our community.
