New York City Lunatic Asylum

Description

Constructed, 1841

The Octagon, built in 1834 on Roosevelt Island, was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis as the entrance to the New York City Lunatic Asylum, which opened in 1841. Constructed from island-quarried stone, it is the last surviving remnant of the hospital. The asylum later became infamous through Nellie Bly’s 1887 exposé Ten Days in a Mad-House.

Closed, 1955

Reopened, 2006

After decades of neglect and fires, it was restored and integrated into a residential complex.

Related People & Organizations

Nellie Bly,After moving to New York and facing repeated rejections from editors unwilling to hire a woman, Nellie Bly secured an undercover assignment at Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World in 1887. She feigned insanity to investigate abuse at the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island (now Roosevelt Island), enduring harsh conditions for ten days before her release. Her exposé, published as Ten Days in a Mad-House, sparked public outrage, led to reforms, and made the 23-year-old Bly famous, helping launch the era of stunt journalism.

current

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current Drawings and documents

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1868

Scene in the Hospital for Incurables on Blackwell's Island

Women in ward reading braille books

1841 - Constructed

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1841 - Constructed - Drawings and documents

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The Hospital at Roosevelt Island

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37-24, 24th St, Suite 102, Long Island City, NY 11101