{"nrhp_refnum":"72000868","name":"City Hospital","other_names":["Island Hospital","Charity Hospital"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Welfare Island","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.753027133000046,"lon":-73.95833255099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-03-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large granite hospital building on Welfare Island (New York City), designed by James Renwick, Jr. and built between 1858 and 1870 to replace an earlier hospital that burned in 1858.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant as a major work of architect James Renwick, Jr., intended to be the largest and finest hospital in America when planned. Its mansard-roofed central pavilion, granite walls and monumental double staircase are noted as architectural features. It also reflects the 19th-century building practices of Welfare Island, using local granite quarried by penitentiary inmates.","narrative":"Built between 1858 and 1870 on Welfare Island in New York City, this hospital was designed by James Renwick, Jr. to replace an earlier hospital destroyed by fire in February 1858. Plans were accepted that March, and the goal was the largest and finest hospital ever erected in America. The building has been known as Island Hospital, Charity Hospital from 1866, and City Hospital from 1892. Its walls are random ashlar granite quarried on the island by inmates of the Island Penitentiary, who also worked on construction. A long main block is crossed at the center by a tall mansard-roofed pavilion, with transverse wings at each end. Rusticated arched doorways, small octagonal stone frames, dormers with triangular pediments and a balustraded double staircase leading to the second floor are its focal features. Renwick's main building at Vassar College, built at about the same time, closely resembles it. The building is currently unused pending restoration.","period_of_significance":"1858-1870","architect_builder":"James Renwick, Jr.","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as unoccupied and unused pending restoration; condition marked good and altered.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.778546-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/72000868.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000868/17a68c6ade-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000868/17a68c6ade-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Rob Tucher, Photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Island_Hospital,_Roosevelt_Island,_New_York_(New_York_County,_New_York).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Rob Tucher, Photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Island_Hospital,_Roosevelt_Island,_New_York_(New_York_County,_New_York).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319415","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Hospital_(Roosevelt_Island)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5123236"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/city-hospital-72000868/"}