January 4, 2008
Roosevelt Island Smallpox Hospital Wing Collapses
A well-known ruin is crumbling. According to Roosevelt Island Historical Society president and historian Judith Berdy, part of the north wing of the Smallpox Hospital collapsed about a week ago. She writes, "The rest of the north wing especially the front is in danger of coming down any time... [The Roosevelt Island Operation Corporation] is working with TPL, the Southpoint park developers to find a way to do emergency stabilization of the rest of the building... Please encourage RIOC to do all possible to save the rest of the building."
The ruins of the Smallpox Hospital, situated on the southern end of Roosevelt Island, are a NYC landmark. The hospital was designed by James Renwick Jr. (who also designed St. Patrick's Cathedral, Grace Church and DC's Smithsonion Institution Building) and was completed in 1856. After years of being used to house patients with smallpox and other diseases and then housing nurses, the hospital was abandoned in 1950s and quickly fell into disrepair.
A 1988 NY Times article said that it would cost $7.25 million to stabilize the Smallpox Hospital as well as two other RI structures. More recently, in 2003, the City Comptroller recommended that the Roosevelt Island Operation Corporation "Abide by its contractual obligations and continue the process after the engineering study to ensure that it stabilizes the Smallpox Hospital," which the RIOC agreed to. And during last fall's Open House New York, tours were able to go inside the hospital.
Via Kevin Walsh of Forgotten New York, which has an extensive section about Roosevelt Island.
Photographs from Roosevelt Island Historical Society
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What? Ofcourse it's collapsing. That shit is old. And haunted.
This "shit" is a jewel of gothic revival architecture, dude!!!
Did it already collapse?
Is it really worth 7.25 million to repair?
All structural works cost hell of the money.
I am sure this number is very realistic.
JUST LIKE IN SPIDERMAN!!!
7.25 million seems like a bargain to me. That gets you what nowadays, a one bedroom in SoHo? You can't replace older structures and it's shame to let them just crumble into dust. Think fo how much cooler midtown would be if people decided to save and restore McKim,Mead and White's Penn Station.
Whatever the "estimate" is ($7m, $1m, $10m) you'll know that it will double or triple with all of the waste and other sketchy dealings that surround NYC construction.
Tear the thing down, and put a park there.
In the 70s I lived on RI and it was like being an urban huck finn. There were 1/3 the buildings. Abandoned lots and buildings like this were the greatest playgrounds ever. Not safe, but I made it out.
It's a lot of money to save rubble, but I like the idea of a park and part of the building being saved. Looks cool a night when they light it up.
Guys - it's a ruin. Ruins become ruins by... falling apart. Better to build a replica of the darn thing.
the problem with this is that most people never even been to roosevelt island, they sit home and look at a blog and throw in their 2 cents...
that smallpox hospital is the last of the last "ruin" thats left...
urban exploring on roosevelt island used to be fun once you got past the king kong wall...
this is before they tore down that hospital and took away a baseball field for condos & starbucks,
this is before the octogon became apartments,
this is before the F train, when the Q only went as far as 21st st. in queens,
RIOC will stabilize the hospital, they cant even get the tram to work!!!!!!!
HHAHAHAHA