renwick smallpox hospital

At the southernmost tip of Roosevelt Island, NYC, lies the only New York City landmark in ruins. The now-derelict Renwick Hospital was designed by James Renwick, an architect of Scottish descent who also designed Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Built by prison labor from the island's penitentiary, the hospital opened it's doors in the mid 1850's to house and quarantine victims of smallpox, a raging epidemic at the time. Thousands of patients who entered the Gothic style structure would never live to see outside it's thick stone walls again.

Renwick was abandoned in the mid 1950's. After a century of use, the magnificent building fell into disrepair and has been consumed by ivy and dense overgrowth. Fortunately the building was granted landmark status, however, it stands crumbling today for lack of funding for repairs and squabbles over what the area should become. Southpoint, as this area of Roosevelt Island is known, has over the years been suggested as a construction site for 'improving' the island. Suggestions have included conference halls, hotels and a waterside promenade along this area. Hopefully none of these plans will be put into action. It would indeed be a shame (but typical) of the city to disturb this sliver of land, rich in history, for commercial purposes.

Inside the hospital, I had the opportunity to explore the tiny chambers which once housed the smallpox victims. The rooms have an eerie green hue from the sunlight shining through the roof of vines and trees. A soft, thick carpet of leaves pads the floor, representing the results of many abandoned autumns. In one room, the leaves are piled almost to the base of the windows and the tip of an ancient radiator pokes out like an iceberg through a leafy ocean.

Falling beams and tumbling walls are a hazard. Trees grow inside and out of the building, and thick brush covers many of the arched windows. On one particular day, as I crouched silently on the damp, leafy carpet, I was able to observe the many quiet details slowly fading away here- the remains of a fireplace, a sturdy ornate hinge from a long-gone door, beautiful wooden door frames...