Seaview Hospital

Seaview Hospital is a former tuberculosis sanatorium and hospital on a ridge in central Staten Island, set well back from Brielle Avenue among lawns, groves and winding drives. Architect Raymond F. Almirall planned it around a radial arrangement of patient pavilions linked by an elliptical corridor, with administrative, surgical, staff and nurses' buildings grouped to the north. Construction began in 1908 after delays caused by litigation between city departments. The low, stuccoed buildings have red tile roofs, copper-clad eaves and restrained detailing; Almirall described the architecture as modern and of no historical or geographical style. Additions in 1917 and the 1930s, including a larger nurses' residence and a children's hospital, expanded the campus. Although the men's open-air pavilions were demolished, the remaining buildings and landscape convey the city's early effort to combat tuberculosis. Today the former hospital buildings serve varied uses, including offices, education, a theater and a museum.