Smallpox Hospital
Located in Southpoint Park, right before the entrance to Four Freedoms Park, this fenced-off, ivy-covered ruin was an 1856 smallpox hospital that was in operation during the island's time as Blackwell's Island. While this city landmark is off-limits, informative placards on the site tell much about the building's history and design by James Renwick Jr., whose resume includes the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. The hospital ruins are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. If you're in a taxi on the FDR Drive across the river, you'll notice the ruins are floodlit at night, creating an eerie spectacle from afar. While in this area, also see the FDR Hope Memorial, a bronze sculpture depicting Roosevelt in his wheelchair, greeting a young girl wearing leg braces.
