The New York Lunatic Asylum was completely destroyed in a fire. The facility had been opened in 1839 on Blackwell's Island in the East River and over the years became overcrowded, holding up to 1,700 patients. Despite this, on the day of the fire, no lives were lost. The Asylum was rebuilt on the same site. Blackwell's Island was later renamed Welfare Island in 1921 and then, in 1973, Roosevelt Island. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
The American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge for the Year 1859, (Boston: Crosby, Nichols, and Company, 1859), 367.
Judith Berdy, Roosevelt Island, NY (New York: Arcadia Publishing, 2003), 9-12.
Judith Berdy, Roosevelt Island, NY (New York: Arcadia Publishing, 2003), 9-12.
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Crime/Disasters
