Every so often we feel inspired to write about a New York building that isn’t a condo, where there are no apartments for sale or even for rent, a building that has no doorman, health spa, chef-style kitchens or other fabulous amenities. Why? Read on and find out….

Did you know that New York City has its own Gothic ruin – an equivalent of the great Gothic, romantic ruins of medieval Europe?

If you drive along the FDR Drive near East 52nd Street, you can see it from your car –a Gothic Revival ruined castle-like structure, the Renwick Ruin, at the southernmost tip of Roosevelt Island.

After dark, because the Ruin is well lit at night, you can see its ghostly outline clearly from Manhattan. You might feel like you are in a different continent, or even a different space-time continuum. You barely recognize that it is part of New York City’s 2007 skyscape.

The central part of this Gothic Revival structure, designed by James Renwick, was built in the 1850s by prison labor to treat, house and quarantine the victims of smallpox. Two wings of a similar design were added to the original block between 1903 and 1905. Thousands of patients who entered the Gothic-style structure would never live to see the outside of its thick stone walls again.

After a century of use, the hospital was abandoned in the 1950s. The magnificent building fell into disrepair and has been consumed by ivy and dense overgrowth.

All that remains are its turreted stone exterior walls, and a crumbling brick interior with no roof, no inner walls, and barely any floors. The hallways are consumed by large rock piles, and big trees occupy the rooms once filled with sick and dying patients. In winter, as water freezes and melts, cornice stones fall from the facade. But the building’s grandeur shows through the flaws.

The building was granted landmark status In 1975 by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The Commission suggested in its designation report that its ruined state was picturesque and attractive. The plan is to preserve what remains, keeping it as a romantic ruin. In 1994, the composer Meredith Monk wrote a choral piece to be performed at the site, called “American Archeology” and featuring a cast of dozens, including actual hospital patients and doctors. The music she wrote is as mysterious as the ruin itself.

Much has changed in the 150 years since the Renwick hospital was built. With its views of Manhattan just across the river, Roosevelt Island now is more than ever a prime real estate location.

Roosevelt Island is owned by the city, but was leased to the State of New York’s Urban Development Corporation for 99 years in 1969. Today, developers and urban planners are building modern glassy buildings on this island.

With the historic Renwick Ruin inspiring the Gothic imagination and an eerie romantic mood, and the cable car flying cross the sky, Roosevelt Island’s magnificent modern real estate has a distinct personality and allure that no other place can match.

No Comments »

Trackback URI | Comments RSS