Welcome to Southpoint Park!  Quite hilly, no? Is there gold in those hills?  Not quite, but there is plenty of gneiss and no, it's not all bedrock and didn’t start in these hills.

     Underneath the tallest hill is all that remains of City Hospital, which was built on this site in 1832.  Well, that's not entirely true.  What rests below the park is the second city hospital designed by famed architect James Renwick, Jr. in 1858, and completed in 1861.  The hospital changed its name to Charity Hospital in 1870, and the Island's name was changed in 1921 to Welfare Island to reflect the work that the hospital and other institutions were doing. 

          In 1957, the hospital moved to Queens, and the building was shuttered.  In 1970, the Second Empire style building was selected by preservation architect Georgio Cavaglieri to be one of the 6 buildings preserved on the island under an Urban Development Corporation plan by Philip Johnson and John Burgee in 1969.  It was even nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

    Sadly, national recognition is not enough to protect a building. In 1994, after years of neglect, Charity Hospital was demolished.   The only way to see Renwick's masterpiece now is through the amazing collection at the NYPL.  You can see remnants of the hospital’s stone throughout Southpoint Park, in the low walls around many of the hills. Find other parts of the building by looking for shaped stones throughout the park

    City Hospital wasn't the only Renwick building on the island. He also designed the next stop on our tour, as well as the lighthouse at the northern end of the island.  You should compare his work and visit both stops! 

South Tour Stop 5: City Hospital

City Hospital

Judith Berdy

Judith Berdy

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Library of Congress

metropostcard

Library of Congress