The Mysteries Of Roosevelt Island Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital Featured On The Bowery Boys NYC History Podcast - Take A Listen, You'll Enjoy It

The always informative and interesting Bowery Boys NYC History Podcast explores the mystery of Roosevelt Island's Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital.

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/upnJmJqK6h pic.twitter.com/uS7RUI2h6g

— The Bowery Boys Podcast (@BoweryBoys) June 3, 2022

According to the The Bowery Boys: 

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...

 Listen to this fascinating history of Roosevelt Island from The Bowery Boys.

Also, as reported June 20,2021: 

According to Untapped Cities:

... 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

— Untapped New York (@UntappedNY) June 18, 2021

As reported last March:

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.

Click to visit website and more info from Friends Of The Ruin here.

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.

RIOC Board Meeting - March 16, 2021 from Diva Communications on Vimeo.

More info here about Friends Of The Ruin and Untapped Cities.

Here's a close up fly over view at the Renwick Ruins.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Friends of the Ruin (@nycruin)

And visits from others over the past few years exploring the Renwick Ruins.

Ghost Hunter Explores Roosevelt Island's Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital - Not Known If Any Spirit Voices Heard

You Tube Video Of Ghost Hunter Visits Roosevelt Island Small Pox Hospital (Part 1)

Roosevelt Island's Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital at Southpoint Park continues to hold an odd attraction for many residents and visitors alike. Bloggers such as Bespoke Affairs write:

It's been awhile since I have visited Roosevelt Island...something about it has always creeped me out (a bit). Even before I ever became a "wedding planner", I was oddly drawn to Renwick Ruins and the idea of doing a photo shoot there... ...Any photographers out there want to jump the fence and risk getting arrested? Well...I don't want to get arrested!!...

You might not want to try and jump the fence to get a closer look because something unfortunate may have happened to folks at Urban Omnibus that they don't want to talk about:

... wicked cool ruins of the Renwick Smallpox hospital – we learned the hard way not to try to sneak in – on the southern tip of the island....

Ghost Stories and Haunted Places adds to the Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital spookiness and mystery:

...the island was also the site of a Smallbox Hospital, which housed small pox patients from 1856 until 1886. The intense suffering that went on in this building added to it's ruined state have built numerous rumors about it's ghostly activity. The ruined hospital is now known as the Renwick Ruin and is brightly lit at night giving it a ghostly glow that only adds to stories....

Then there was the Ghost Hunter, Fox News radio's Spencer Hughes who, after waiting in the early morning hours before the Southpoint Park gate opened:

 
  You Tube Video Of Ghost Hunter Visits Roosevelt Island's Southpoint Park found the "motherlode" at Southpoint's Renwick Ruins:

...A sign explains how this was home to those spilled over from poorhouses, prisons, and “lunatic” asylums. It opened in 1832. I conducted some respectful EVP sessions (looking for electronic voice phenomenon, or spirit voices…voices not heard with the ear but picked up on recording devices) before continuing the short walk to the Ruins of Renwick. What an amazing site. It looks like a gothic castle just sitting there, decaying from the passage of time. An effort is under way to stabilize the structure before it collapses completely. I did some more EVP work along the perimeter, just on the other side of the chain link fence that keeps the curious from breaking their neck exploring the actual building....

You Tube Video Of Ghost Hunter Visits Roosevelt Island Small Pox Hospital (Part 2)

That's why some people are fascinated by Roosevelt Island and the Renwick Ruins. One of the items on the Agenda for Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation's (RIOC) February 18 meeting has to do with the stabilization of the Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital. According to RIOC's Agenda, the item is:

2. Authorization to Enter into Amendment of Contract with Alternate Construction Concepts LLC for the Renwick Ruin Stabilization Project (Board Action Required)

Replace Roosevelt Island Renwick Ruins With Calatrava Waterfront Restaurant Pavilion?

Image of Santiago Calatrava's restaurant pavilion for Southpoint Park from Main Street WIRE

Today's Daily News reports on efforts by local Roosevelt Island preservationists to raise an additional $3 million to the already allocated $4 million for the stabilization of the Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital at Southpoint Park. According to the NY Times City Room:

Under the current master plan for Southpoint Park by the Trust for Public Land, the ruin would be stabilized, though the building would not be rebuilt. There is $12.9 million available for the entire first phase of park development, which is to begin this year, of which $4.5 million has been set aside for the stabilization project.

Image of the crumbled Renwick Ruins from Gothamist

According to RIOC President Steve Shane:

"We've been told by the engineers that to really do an adequate job, we need somewhere around $7 million," ... "We have $4.5 million to spend on preservation. The rest of the money is slated for the parks, and I don't want to pit the preservation people versus the parks people".

The Renwick Ruin Smallpox Hospital:

... was given official landmark status in 1976 as “a picturesque ruin” that “could readily serve as the setting for a 19th-century ‘Gothick’ romance,” in the words of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Those who favor preservation say:

The hospital was designed by famed architect James Renwick, who was also responsible for St. Patrick's Cathedral and Grace Church.
"His buildings had a castle-like quality," said Judith Berdy of the Roosevelt Island Historical Society. "Everything was built with quality. It's a beautiful, detailed stone façade."
... "It's irreplaceable," said Berdy. "No one would have the budget [today] to put up a building like this [and] I don't know if there are any craftsmen who could put up a building like this anymore."

Not everyone agrees that the Renwick Ruins Smallpox hospital should be preserved particularly at a $7 million price tag. From Architectural blogger Tropolism:

Anyone who has visited the asylum knows that the old building is little more than a ruin, stabilized by luck, some steel, and a lot of ivy. And some theatrical uplighting. Which made the idea of preserving it something short of silly, both from a cost standpoint and a use standpoint. It's frankly more interesting as a ruin...turning it into a building again would make it bland again.

I agree with Tropolism. At a price tag of over $7 million, without any reasonable guarantee that after millions of dollars are spent the structure will not continue to fall apart, it is time to re-consider how these taxpayer funds should be used and to explore other possibilities for this section of Southoint Park. For example, how about replacing the Renwick Ruins Smallpox hospital with architect Santiago Calatrava's proposed Roosevelt Island Southpoint Park restaurant pavilion pictured above? Out with the dilapidated spooky Roosevelt Island, in with the dynamic winged waterfront eatery!

Below are some pictures to remember the Renwick Ruins.

Image from Weblicist of Manhattan

Image of Manhattan seen through the windows of Renwick Ruins from Undercity

Some intrepid urban adventurers such as these would miss exploring the grounds around the Renwick Ruins until ...

You Tube Video

Stunning Olya Picture of Roosevelt Island Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital - Renwick Ruins Will Not Be Removed For New Cornell/Technion School

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.

Image of Renwick Ruin Smallpox Hospital From Olya's Urban Journal

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.

Image of Southpoint Park Rendering From RIOC Record (Page 12)

More on Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital and recently restored Southpoint Park.

Southpoint Park Hours and Renwick Ruins Lighting Schedule - Let's Go For A Visit, If You Dare!

Image of Renwick Ruins Lit Up from the Weblicist of Manhattan

A longtime reader and former Roosevelt Island resident asks the following question:

Do you know until what time Southpoint Park is open at night during this time of year, especially during the weekend? And do you know until what time the Renwick Ruins are lit in the evening? I don't want to make a visit and find myself locked out!

Many thanks for any information. By the way, this might be the sort of useful piece of information worth posting on your blog. (I looked around and couldn't find anything about it there.)

According to RIOC, during the winter Southpoint Park opens at 8 AM and closes at 6:30 PM - operating times for the rest of the year at Southpoint Park are available here though the Park is scheduled for renovations of its northern portion with the Green Rooms/Wild Gardens design by the Trust For the Public Land shortly after the Fourth of July. Hopefully, by that time, the Kahn/FDR Memorial Boondoggle proposed for the southern section of Southpoint Park will be dead, buried and forgotten.

As to the timing of the Renwick Ruins Lights, RIOC President Steve Shane advises that:

Lights are dusk until approx 10:30

According to Roosevelt Island 360:

The night time lighting of the former smallpox hospital, on Roosevelt Island, started as a party favor from Arnold Scaasi, a Sutton Place resident, to his guests. It was then later picked up as a treat from an island based group to the larger city as a reminder that "we're part of the City".

This 1993 NY Times article has more on the Renwick Lights:

... The Friends of Roosevelt Island Landmarks, a nonprofit group, is sponsoring the lighting. E. M. Freeman, a member of the group's board, said, "We like to think of it as a holiday gift to our neighbors on the mainland -- and a reminder that we're part of the city."

Mr. Scaasi and Kitty Carlisle Hart, head of the New York State Council on the Arts, have organized to raise funds for the permanent lighting of the Smallpox Hospital.

"I love the way the ruin looks in the daytime, like a 19th-century Spanish city hall," said Mr. Scaasi, who lives on Beekman Place. "But at night it is just a big black patch in the middle of the river."...

The Weblicist of Manhattan has some great eerie photos of the Renwick Ruins glowing at night and a reader shares childhood memories of driving past the glowing Renwick "Spooky House". Also, another reader thinks the Renwick Ruins are Haunted!

A Rare Look Inside Roosevelt Island's Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital

Image of collapsing wall at Renwick Ruins from Gothamist

Roosevelt Island's Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital at Southpoint Park is about to undergo a $4 million stabilization program that will attempt to prevent the structure from completely collapsing.

Very few people have ever been inside the Renwick Ruins - or at least are still alive to talk about it. Here's a chance to take a look inside the Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital on Roosevelt Island from the safety of your computer screen.

You Tube video Inside Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital (Part 1)

You Tube video Inside Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital (Part 2)

Stabilizing Roosevelt Island's Renwick Ruins Before It Falls Down - Is That A Good Thing?

Renwick Ruins Restoration Video From NY Time City Room Blog

The NY Times City Room Blog visits Roosevelt Island's Spooky House, otherwise known as the Renwick Ruins, to view the progress made by RIOC and The Trust For The Public Land in keeping what some believe to be a haunted remnant of Roosevelt Island's eerie past from completely collapsing upon itself. The cost of the stabilization project is $4.5 million. According to the article:

...The freestanding granite, brick and rubblestone walls have been repointed. Even more noticeably, the first two of five steel framework towers have been erected within the walls. These towers will be connected to the old walls to help keep the remaining structure upright while permanent plans are drawn up for its reuse. The happiest discovery of the project was that the necessary bracing could be constructed entirely inside the picturesque walls, which are illuminated at night. There turned out to be no need for exterior scaffolding....

The Trust For Public Land's Andy Stone even envisions the possibility of a future performance space or seasonal cafe occupying a renovated Renwick Ruins though to make the Ruins safe for actual use will cost tens of millions of dollars more. Highly unlikely.

As long as the Renwick Ruins are standing it will always be cordoned off behind a chained fence preventing people from gaining access to it. Perhaps it is time to reevaluate whether preserving the Renwick Ruins is a good thing or if it would be better to acknowledge reality, knock it down and build a new performance space or cafe in its place.

Image of Renwick Ruins Behind Chain Link Fence from Press HD

Rare Look Inside Eerie Crumbling Remains Of Roosevelt Island's Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital With Travel Channel's Off Limits

Image of Renwick Ruin Smallpox Hospital From Olya's Urban Journal

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.


According to the RIHS:

... 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.

Image of Southpoint Park Rendering From RIOC Record (Page 12)

More on Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital and recently restored Southpoint Park.

A New Short Film Unforgetten: Renwick Ruins Takes You Inside Roosevelt Island's Abandoned Smallpox Hospital, Take A Look - Friends Of The Ruin Proposes Renovating Ruin For A Public Health Memorial

According to Untapped Cities:

... 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

— Untapped New York (@UntappedNY) June 18, 2021

As reported last March:

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.

Click to visit website and more info from Friends Of The Ruin here.

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.

RIOC Board Meeting - March 16, 2021 from Diva Communications on Vimeo.

More infor here about Friends Of The Ruin and Untapped Cities.

You Have Until Midnight Tonight To Take Roosevelt Island Southpoint Open Space Survey, Help Determine The Future Of Southpoint Park - Should Historic, But Crumbling, Renwick Smallpox Hospital Ruins Be Demolished?

 Image Of Southpoint Park From Google Maps

The Southpoint Open Space Survey team reported today

Complete the Community Survey about Southpoint Open Space TODAY before it closes at midnight! 

We want to hear what you think!

Click here!  Today is your last chance to complete the brief online survey to tell us what you think about Southpoint Open Space.  Get your answers in before the survey closes at midnight!

So what are you waiting for?  Click here to take the survey now!

Please note that all answers are completely anonymous.  We will let you know when the survey results are posted on the project website. 

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

Have a comment or suggestion?  Email us at SouthpointOpenSpace@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you!

I spoke with Fitzgerald & Halliday's Arnie Bloch about the Southpoint Open Space Survey at the May 14 Saturday's Farmers Market.



Here's what Mr. Bloch had to say.



One opinion for Southpoint Park proposed by the Roosevelt Island Daily is to:

Tear Down the Renwick Smallpox Hospital Ruins

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."

Click here for the full Roosevelt Island Daily post advocating demolishing the Renwick Smallpox Hospital Ruins.

Previous estimates for the cost of stabilizing the Renwick Smallpox Hospital Ruins have been in the millions of dollars.

More on the future and possible restoration of the Smallpox Hospital

Image From FDR Four Freedoms Park Conservancy

at this previous post.

UPDATE 7/12 - An online history of the Renwick Smallpox Hospital Ruins.

Is Roosevelt Island The Most Haunted Place on The Planet? More Spooky Happenings At The Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital

Interior of Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital

Blogger Melissa Bastian, who was creeped out by the spirits and ghosts at the Octagon has company in thinking that Roosevelt Island is:

possibly the most haunted piece of land on the planet.

Well maybe not the most haunted on the planet but perhaps in New York City. Another visitor to Roosevelt Island sees spooky images in pictures he took of the Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital wall and a friend feels a tap on the shoulder when nobody is close by according to this Live Journal account.

Last winter, my friend and I took the tram over to Roosevelt Island's crumbling Smallpox Hospital.

... For those who aren't skeptical, I kept seeing odd images come up on these, but take that as you wish.

When I first opened this on my phone, the image of a forlorn emaciated person's upper half with their face leaning on their hand jumped out at me from the left side of this picture. Then the image of a small boy on the right of the black hole in the middle was pointed out to me. Now that it's been lightened in photoshop and enlarged, I can see even more faces.

My friend told me that he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder, turned around to find me several feet back, but didn't mention it until we had left.

Image of face on Renwick Ruins Wall from Live Journal

I don't see the images but that doesn't mean they aren' t there.

A reader, Just a Mommy, shared her memories of driving past the Renwick Ruins in this earlier post.

As a child who grew up in Manhattan my family and I used to drive alot on the FDR and I remember looking out the window to my right and seeing what was left of this building. My brothers would say it was a crazy house where monsters lived and my older brother would tell the younger one if he misbehaved he would be shipped there permanently. I always found it very pretty and I envisioned it a castle and I would one day grow up and restore it and live there...

Here's a night time excursion to the Renwick Ruins via You Tube.

2 Roosevelt Island Public Safety Offices Hurt Falling Through Floor In Pursuit of Renwick Ruins Trespassers

Image from Weblicist of Manhattan

RIOC President Steve Shane writes in his 3/21/09 Main Street WIRE column in regard to the:

...Renwick Ruin: Work continues with a completion date projected for early spring. Final steel installation to take place early in April.

But in the meantime some people cannot resist the urge to trespass (explore?) inside the Renwick Ruins which can result in injury to themselves or others.


According to the 3/20 Roosevelt Island 24 Hour Incident Report:

Aided- Two males injured, fell threw floor or Ruins, transported to hospital.

Trespass- Four male subjects arrested for trespass in the Ruins. Two officers injured while apprehending subjects.

Roosevelt Island Public Safety Director Keith Guerra provides additional information:

The two people who fell through the floor at the Ruins and were hurt were Public Safety Officers who were pursuing the fleeing subjects, who do not reside on Roosevelt Island.

Here's a brief look inside the Renwick Ruins from 2006.

2006 You Tube Video inside Renwick Ruins

A more detailed You Tube visit inside the Renwick Ruin was here but has been removed.

Memories of Roosevelt Island's "Spooky House" - Lifelong Dream to Vist The Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital Fulfilled

Image of lit up Renwick Ruins from the Bowery Boys

Just A Mommy, a reader of this post, shares these childhood memories of driving on the FDR and seeing Roosevelt Island's Renwick Ruins across the East River from the car window and wondering what monsters dwelled inside.

Thanks for the inside view.
As a child who grew up in Manhattan my family and I used to drive alot on the FDR and I remember looking out the window to my right and seeing what was left of this building. My brothers would say it was a crazy house where monsters lived and my older brother would tell the younger one if he misbehaved he would be shipped there permanently. I always found it very pretty and I envisioned it a castle and I would one day grow up and restore it and live there.

That was many years ago and I no longer live in Manhattan but do pass it on occassion and I noticed lately at night its lit up making it even prettier. I told my husband and kids my ' spooky" house, as my brothers called it memories.

Today I had the pleasure of touring Roosevelt Island and in my life long search to see ' spooky' house up close my husband drove us as close as possible and a resident led the way in. After almost 30 years and even though there is a big fence around it I came as close to it as I could.

Its hollowness made me wonder what those remaining walls would say if they could only speak. I read the signs and realized ' spooky' house was just a remnant of an old hospital. I was still glad I went and I hope one day its somewhat restored so people can actually go inside and if that happens I will be first in line.............

Thank you for the video~

Below are the videos mentioned of a visit inside the Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital. Do not go inside yourself now because it is dangerous. Take this virtual trip inside.

You Tube video inside the Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital (Part I)

You Tube Video inside the Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital Part 2

Great Photos of Creepy Roosevelt Island Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital - May Be Last Chance to See Ruins Before It All Falls Down.

Image by Andre Costantini at Silly Dancing

Images by Gabriel Biderman

Photographer Gabriel Biderman took these photographs of Roosevelt Island's Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital at Southpoint Park. Biderman describes his Roosevelt Island experience:

...The sun was setting by the time I arrived at 5:30pm. The main gate to the southern tip of the island was over 10 tall and had barbed wire, but it was open. Tripod and my new Canon G9 in hand, I quickly rushed down the 60+ yards to the Hospital. I didn’t want to break in at night, I just chose to shoot through the fence and test the exposures. The floodlights were bathing the Hospital in what seemed like white light but my camera was reading as eerie shades of blue and green.
An hour later I was still shooting when the cop car drove up beside me, “We closing up bossman” said the driver.
What? Bossman? I wasn’t being arrested? Technically, I wasn’t trespassing.
I asked the cop what time they shut down the park to which he replied, “Around sunset, or when it starts to get dangerous.”
“Dangerous?!” I replied, “Well, thanks for the warning.” and started to walk back towards the gate.
Unfortunately the gate was now closed and locked.
Uhmmm…I definitely was assessing the situation and it didn’t look good. But then the cop car came back around from doing his loop and thankfully unlocked the gate.
The next week I returned with my fellow Nocturnalist, Andre Costantini, who was featured previously here with our Red Hook Night shoot.
As luck would have it, February 12th, was one of the few days in which it snowed in the city. Did that deter Andre and me?
Hell no.
We arrived at 5pm, set up, and witnessed an amazing sunset through the snow clouded night. It was truly spectacular...

At the February 28 RIOC Board meeting, a $4 million allocation of NYC funding was approved to immediately attempt stabilizing the Renwick Ruins before it completely collapses despite everyone's understanding that at least $7 million is needed to do the job and nobody knows when, where or if that money will ever be raised. Even if the $7 million is raised, the end result of the stabilization process is still a ruin that will be closed off from the public and surrounded by a fence. Hardly seems worth $7 million to me and to several of the RIOC directors who spoke on the subject. It almost makes you wish for some penny pinching, Republican, fiscal conservatives on the City Council watching out how taxpayer funds are spent. Almost.

The RIOC Board made clear that RIOC funds were not being used for this purpose and pledged that no additional funds for the Renwick Ruins will come from them. Had this $4 million not come from the NYC Council Budget, I do not think it would have been approved by the RIOC Board. RIOC President Shane explained that he does not want to pit park supporters against preservationists for available Southpoint funding. Here is link to web cast of RIOC Board meeting where issue of funding emergency stabilization of Renwick Ruins was discussed and approved.

The Santiago Calatrava restaurant pavilion is looking better every day for this spot at Southpoint Park.

You're Invited To Roosevelt Island Main Street Theatre & Dance Alliance Open House Saturday January 26 - Reserve Spot For A Free Ballet, Tap, Musical Theater, Capoeira, Hip Hop & Breakdancing Open House Class

Roosevelt Island Main Street Theatre & Dance Alliance (MST&DA) Executive Director Kristi Towey reports:

 We will be hosting our free Open House on January 26th for the upcoming Spring semester. Classes are free but require a reservation.

According to MST&DA:

SPRING OPEN HOUSE SCHEDULE ON 1/26/19
​Join us for a FREE class on January 26th at our Spring Open House.

New to MST&DA? Come meet teachers and staff to learn more about our programming and classes we offer for the whole family.

Currently a student? Try something new! We are so excited to have the whole family!

To reserve a spot in our Open House Demo Classes listed below, email info@mstda.org with the class name, time, student name, date of birth, and contact for parent. Space is limited so reservations are necessary for entry to class. Limit two reservations per student.

Please note age requirements for the classes below.

OPEN HOUSE DEMO CLASS SCHEDULE:
9:30-10am Playmakers for ages 18 mos - 3yrs Renwick Room
10:30-11am Creative Pre-Ballet ages 3-4.5 Renwick Room
9:30-10:15am Ballet I & II ages 6+ Large Dance Studio
10:30-11am Mini Musical Theatre ages 6 & 7 Large Dance Studio
11-11:30am Pre-Ballet ages 4.5 yrs up to age 6 Renwick Room
10:30-11am Tap ages 4+ Renwick Room
11-11:30am Family Capoeira ages 2+ Large Dance Studio
11:30-12pm Open Level Capoeira - all ages 5+ Large Dance Studio
11:30-12pm Teen Hip Hop & Choreography Ages 13+ Renwick Room
12:00-1pm Introduction to Breakdancing Ages 10+ Large Dance Studio

You can also check our website schedule here - http://www.mstda.org/spring-19-schedule.html

More info on MST&DA available at its web site or send them an email.

You're Invited To Roosevelt Island Main Street Theatre & Dance Alliance Open House Saturday January 26 - Reserve Spot For A Free Ballet, Tap, Musical Theater, Capoeira, Hip Hop & Breakdancing Open House Class

Roosevelt Island Main Street Theatre & Dance Alliance (MST&DA) Executive Director Kristi Towey reports:

 We will be hosting our free Open House on January 26th for the upcoming Spring semester. Classes are free but require a reservation.

According to MST&DA:

SPRING OPEN HOUSE SCHEDULE ON 1/26/19
​Join us for a FREE class on January 26th at our Spring Open House.

New to MST&DA? Come meet teachers and staff to learn more about our programming and classes we offer for the whole family.

Currently a student? Try something new! We are so excited to have the whole family!

To reserve a spot in our Open House Demo Classes listed below, email info@mstda.org with the class name, time, student name, date of birth, and contact for parent. Space is limited so reservations are necessary for entry to class. Limit two reservations per student.

Please note age requirements for the classes below.

OPEN HOUSE DEMO CLASS SCHEDULE:
9:30-10am Playmakers for ages 18 mos - 3yrs Renwick Room
10:30-11am Creative Pre-Ballet ages 3-4.5 Renwick Room
9:30-10:15am Ballet I & II ages 6+ Large Dance Studio
10:30-11am Mini Musical Theatre ages 6 & 7 Large Dance Studio
11-11:30am Pre-Ballet ages 4.5 yrs up to age 6 Renwick Room
10:30-11am Tap ages 4+ Renwick Room
11-11:30am Family Capoeira ages 2+ Large Dance Studio
11:30-12pm Open Level Capoeira - all ages 5+ Large Dance Studio
11:30-12pm Teen Hip Hop & Choreography Ages 13+ Renwick Room
12:00-1pm Introduction to Breakdancing Ages 10+ Large Dance Studio

You can also check our website schedule here - http://www.mstda.org/spring-19-schedule.html

More info on MST&DA available at its web site or send them an email.

Roosevelt Island Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital Named One Of Seven To Save Historic New York State Resources - Hope For Adaptive Reuse Study and Additional Stabilization

Image of Renwick Ruin Smallpox Hospital From Olya's Urban Journal

Roosevelt Island's Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital has been named to a list of threatened NY State historic resources. According to this Press Release from the Preservation League of New York State:

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.

More on Roosevelt Island's Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital from Roosevelt Island Historical Society, a previous post and this You Tube Video.

Roosevelt Island Dilapidated Renwick Ruins - A Metaphor for the Republican Party?

Roosevelt Island's Renwick Ruins has been brought into the Republican Party Presidential nominating process discussion. According to a blogger on the conservative political web site Red State:

Every night on New York City's Roosevelt Island, someone pays to have lights shoot up at the Renwick Ruin [photo gallery, vid]. It was designed by the man, James Renwick, Jr., who designed St. Patrick's Cathedral, and now it is a dilapidated shell, illuminated at night for all to see. "See what's become of me!"
It's what we risk, should our current intra-party animus linger.

On the Democatic Party side, what Roosevelt Island analogy applies to Senator Barack Obama? Perhaps the hope and promise of the new Wild Gardens/Green Rooms Waterfront Park at Southpoint Park proposed by the Trust for the Public Land and favored by Roosevelt Island residents over the outmoded, environmentally challenged, 1970's design of the Louis Kahn/FDR memorial that will obstruct these fantastic views of the East River Waterfront and NYC skyline?

Then what Roosevelt Island metaphor applies to Hillary?

Image of Republican candidates is from MSNBC.
Image of Renwick Ruins is from Weblicist of Manhattan.