I thought I’d share something a little different from a non-urbex holiday with Mrs X a few years back…
History (from Wiki)
The Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital (also known as USPHS Hospital #43) was a United States Public Health Service hospital on Ellis Island in New York Harbor, which operated from 1902 to 1951. The hospital is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. While the monument is managed by the National Park Service as part of the National Parks of New York Harbor office, the south side of Ellis Island, including the hospital, is managed by the non-profit Save Ellis Island Foundation and has been off-limits to the general public since its closing in 1954.
Constructed in phases, the facility encompassed both a general hospital and a separate pavilion-style contagious disease hospital. The hospital had two functions: first, treating immigrants who were ill upon arrival, and second, treating immigrants with conditions that were prohibited by immigration laws. These latter patients were stabilized and often sent back to their home countries. Between 1902 and 1951 the hospital treated over 275,000 patients; there were approximately 4,000 fatalities and 350 babies were born there.
The Immigrant Hospital was run by the Marine Hospital Service, which was re-organized and expanded in 1902 and became the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service. The name was shortened in 1912 and became the United States Public Health Service (PHS). All of the doctors at Ellis Island were part of the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service. Nurses and all other medical personnel were employees of the PHS. The PHS doctors conducted the Line Inspection, the medical examination of arriving immigrants, and treated detained immigrants in the hospitals.
Efforts to restore the hospital buildings and other structures on the island are being made by the Save Ellis Island Foundation. The hospital complex has been open to the public on a limited basis for Hard Hat tours since 2014 provided by the Save Ellis Island Foundation.
Our Explore
I visited as part of the Save Ellis Island Foundation’s hard hat tour. Whilst it was great to see this slice of history which is usually off limits to the general public, it was frustrating to have to tag along with the tour guide, and limit myself to only a handful of quick hand-held photos as tripods were not allowed. Still, something is better than nothing, and I hope you find the photos below of interest…
Our first glimpses of the hospital, as our ferry from Battery Park approached Ellis Island…
The tour began in the laundry room… this is an old drum washing machine…
Beautiful old wrought-iron radiators…
Exteriors of some of the laboratories…
Heading to the wards, and some decaying corridor goodnesss…
This giant autoclave was at the forefront of medical technology, and could sterilise up to four entire mattresses at a time.
The washrooms by the autopsy theatre (/theater) – note the foot pedal operated taps, which would later become standard in other hospitals.
An eight-cadaver refrigerator in the autopsy theatre – definitely one of the tour highlights!
The rusting door of an isolation cell on the measles ward.
A now-stripped ward.
The kitchen.
Curved corridor of an isolation ward.
After an all too brief visit, we headed back outside…
The view back to Manhattan.
Thanks for your visit.
Adam X