Thank you to Friends of the Ruin, Walter B. Melvin Architects, and Stephen Martin for providing WHSAD students with numerous opportunities to envision a future for this integral part of New York City’s architectural history. Below are narratives from some students who attended this site visit.
Smallpox is a deadly infectious disease caused by the variola virus. The virus killed over 2 million people. As a WHSAD student, I was fortunate enough to go to the Smallpox Memorial Hospital which is located on Roosevelt Island. I learned that the building that used to be a hospital and a nursing school is now a historical landmark that highlights NYC’s health history. The primary purpose of the Smallpox Hospital was for people to be quarantined when they got smallpox since smallpox was highly contagious. The hospital, which was designed by James Renwick Jr., opened in 1856 and was the only institution in New York City dedicated to treating smallpox at that time. When I arrived at the site, I saw the exterior of the building which had an environmental feel to it because there were vines and plants on the outer walls.
When looking at the exterior of the hospital it looked like it had a Gothic Revival architecture design. The building had features like pointed arches that helped show the elegance of the building during that period. There were also features like crenelated parapets on top of the building. When you look at the building, you can see how it has a grand entrance type of feel with the big door opening and the polygonal chimneys. The building was constructed with the granite named gneiss which is sourced from the island. All these small features I feel like went well together. It could be adapted for modern use as a potential Pandemic Memorial and Museum. This would preserve its historical features while educating people about past pandemics, including COVID-19, and their impacts on society. Something else they can turn it into is a community center with art exhibits and workshops that help bring the community together in a fun impactful way.
Overall, I feel like going to Roosevelt Island’s smallpox landmark was a great experience. I was able to learn the history of Roosevelt Island and how it was a place where debris used to be pilled up and how in 1828 several institutions and jails were on the island. New York City took advantage of the fact that there were jails on this island and they used the inmates to help them build the smallpox hospital. Having the small parts of the hospital built had lots of benefits because the hospital helped decrease the spread of smallpox. Today, the smallpox hospital has no floors, no ceilings, and no windows. Instead of you being able to go inside it, it’s used as a form of art to honor the people we lost from disease.
-Yenitza Tejada
Mi visita al hospital de la viruela fue demasiado interesante, ya que aprendí la historia de aquel hospital, aunque la mayor parte no logre comprender porque mi inglés no es tan bueno. Pero según comprendí era un lugar donde ponían en cuarentena a los enfermos para tratarlos y evitar el contagio con las demás personas. Después fue abandonado y usado como academia de enfermería. Pero hoy en día quieren reformar y reforzar la estructura del Hospital de la Viruela para así lograr un espacio tranquilo al cual se pueda acceder y servir como algo conmemorativo para quienes perdieron a personas que apreciaban o amaban.
Mis pensamientos al visitar el Hospital de la Viruela fue de cuantas personas debieron morir en ese lugar y lo que me llevó a comprender que antes las personas no tenían otra alternativa de aislar a los infectados para evitar más contagios cuando se presentaban estas infecciones incontrolables. Una idea para que el Hospital de la Viruela sea usado para el uso moderno es la idea que tienen de reforzar su estructura y servir como un lugar tranquilo y de paz para admirar por dentro el diseño arquitectónico que tiene el hospital y al mismo tiempo ser conmemorado para que las familias puedan recordar a las personas que perdieron ahí. Otra idea propia sería ser reforzado y servir como lugar turístico para enseñar todo sobre el hospital de la Viruela pero añadiendo un monumento donde contenga nombres de personas que lamentablemente murieron en ese hospital, como doctores, enfermeras, pacientes y más.
Los desafíos que podrían surgir sería el colisionamiento del edificio ya sea por mover o extraer una parte del hospital incorrectamente. Lo que se debería hacer para que no suceda eso sería trabajarlo con cuidado y mirar bien la estructura para que no haya ningún mal movimiento. El entorno natural de la isla Roosevelt hizo que mi parecer del lugar cambiará ya que se ubica en un lugar cerca del mar, verdaderamente me sentí confortable y tranquilo ya que la vista y el sonido del mar calmo todo dentro de mi.
-Anthony Poaquiza
The primary purpose of the Smallpox Hospital was to send people that had or those that were accused of having smallpox to that hospital. They were brought there to be treated and isolated away from others in order to prevent further spread of the disease. Its history contributes to our understanding of public health due to the fact that it teaches us how people dealt with these kinds of things during that period of time. They tried to stop the spread by isolating people and in the end it was worth building the hospital. They eventually found a cure and saved millions of people.
Back then after the smallpox disease was cured it was used as a school for nursing. One option is that it could be used as a nursing school again for specific areas of the medical trade. Like a specialized nurse. The other possible option is that it could be used as a research facility. It could be cleaned up from any of the dangerous chemicals in there and then reused. The hospital isn’t a huge space but it would do the trick for research projects. Some challenges that might arise when trying to preserve the historical aspects of the hospital could be that since the building is unstable it could come down even though it is currently being supported. Another thing is the toxic soil, it has so many chemicals in it due to past leakage. The chemicals in the soil make it unusable for any safe use. Research shows that it takes a lot of work and money to clean or replace that soil.
Originally I chose to sketch over by the FDR Memorial. Instead I sketched the view of the bridge and buildings across from it. I picked this area to sketch because I liked the view and I liked how it was the complete opposite of the park. The park is full of trees and greenery which gives a calming relaxing feeling and overall it’s very nice. In comparison to over the water where you can see cars and people and it’s more noisy there. I would definitely be interested in going back to Roosevelt Island. I enjoyed the scenery and the views that it has. I would also like to go back to explore some more areas of Roosevelt Island, like the other side I didn’t get to see.
-Morgan Shoken
The smallpox hospital was originally built with the intent to serve as a hospital at the time of a devastating pandemic, it was the first hospital to receive patients with smallpox, and allow patients to be quarantined. The existence of this hospital allows us to see how previous outbreaks were dealt with, especially in a time where we lacked the technological advancements we have now, while also providing us an opportunity to understand the way people were affected and how the government dealt with such a devastating disease.
When I first arrived at the hospital I had found myself in awe, the building was clearly abandoned and run down but a lot of the original features belonging to the structure could be seen. I found a lot of the stylistic choices very intriguing because it was made in a much more intricate and detailed manner compared to many of the existing buildings that are now present within our modern world. The gothic architecture style of the building really captured me and left me feeling admiration for it. However the atmosphere that surrounded the building was completely different, it felt very sad, especially after I heard about what the building had once been used for, and what the patients that once resided there might have gone through.
Some key architectural elements of the smallpox hospital are the heavy stone porch surmounted by a crenelated bay, alongside the entry is further enhanced by the massive tower-like structure above, with a recessed Gothic pointed arch on the corbel. The structure was built in a gothic style because of James Renwick Jr. who had found much success in these types of structures. It was very different for its architectural time, and reflected more of the artist’s personal style than it did for its time period.
During my visit I chose to sketch out two areas of the building. I chose both a side and front view angle of the building because I had wanted to try and draw from a perspective to challenge myself . I also chose to draw the building because it was something that really stood out to me visually apart from the city view. To me the hospital represents the architectural aspect of the island, which is something I find important coming from an architectural school.
-Alison Sanchez
My first thoughts when I first arrived at the Smallpox Hospital was how there was a lot of greenery being shown such as a green wall on every part of the hospital. The atmosphere of the site affected my experience by showing that there was more things around the area and how they have now developed since previously the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park was just a landfill. As you look around the hospital, you start to notice that there are debris in some certain areas because of how the structure was built.
The primary purpose of the Smallpox Hospital when it was built was to help cure people who were sick from smallpox and didn’t have a place to cure the disease since other hospitals were full. How its history contributes to our understanding of public health was that after it was a hospital they converted it into a nursing school and the nurses will live on the 4th floor. From that moment on many women learned about how to be a nurse.
The most interesting story I learned about the hospital’s history is that slaves built the hospitals. So, when you hear about how the hospital is collapsing you now know that it wasn’t fully professionally done so that is why they need others’ help to save the hospital in order to keep it stable and secure it for later use in the future.
-Melissa Macias