The Renwick Ruin, resembling an ancient castle lost to time, appears along the East River as a crumbling, medieval-like apparition, something not quite believable. Sitting between two new additions on Roosevelt Island -- the campus of Cornell Tech and FDR Four Freedoms Park -- these captivating ruins, enrobed in beautiful ivy, tell the story of a dark period in New York City history.
The island between Manhattan and Queens was once known as Blackwell's Island, a former pastoral escape that transformed into the ominous 'city of asylums', the destination for the poor, the elderly and the criminal during the 19th century.
During this period, the island embodied every outdated idea about human physical and mental health, and vast political corruption ensured that the inmates and patients of the island would suffer.
In 1856 the island added a Smallpox Hospital to its notorious roster, designed by acclaimed architect James Renwick Jr (of St. Patrick's Cathedral fame) in a Gothic Revival style that captivates visitors to this day -- even if the building is in an advanced state of dilapidation.
What makes the Renwick Ruin so entrancing? How did this marvelous bit of architecture manage to survive in any form into present day?
PLUS: The grand story of the island -- from a hideous execution in 1829 to the modern delights of one of New York City's most interesting neighborhoods.
After you've listened to this show, check out these Bowery Boys podcasts with similar themes:
-- North Brother Island: New York's Forbidden Place
-- Nellie Bly: Undercover in the Madhouse
#394 New York Calling: A History of the Telephone
#393 Ric Burns and James Sanders on "New York: A Documentary Film"
Rewind: The Story of the Yellow Taxi Cab
Invisible Magicians: Domestic Servants in Gilded Age New York
#392 The Bowery Boys Podcast 15th Anniversary Special
#391 A Walk through Little Caribbean
#390 The Story of Flatbush: Brooklyn Old and New
Now Playing: Cautionary Tales
#388 The Hudson River School: An American Art Revolution
#387 Hyde Park: The Roosevelts on the Hudson
#386 On the Trail of the Old Croton Aqueduct
Now Playing: History Daily Podcast
#385 Frederick Law Olmsted and the Plan for Central Park
#384 Nuyorican: The Great Puerto Rican Migration
#383 The Temple on Fifth Avenue
#382 Architect of the Gilded Age
Introducing: Love Thy Neighbor
#381 The Wonderful Home of Louis Armstrong
#380 Dorothy Parker's Last Party
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Irish Songs with Ken Murray
History Obscura
Historycal: Words that Shaped the World
The Rest Is History
Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra