The island is two miles long and 800 feet wide at its widest, and it lies in the East River between Manhattan Island and the borough of Queens. We took the tram from Manhattan and had some great views on the way there and back.
Here's a 3 minute video from the tram ride:
On the southern end of the island, the FDR Four Freedoms Park was opened in 2012. It's a beautiful space.
A view from the park.
The UN building.
In the 1880s, this was an island of undesirables first called Blackwell Island, and then Welfare Island. (The name was changed to Roosevelt in 1973.) There was a penitentiary with its own hospital, a lunatic asylum (opened in 1834), a workhouse for lesser criminals, and a small pox hospital. Here are photos of the ruins of the smallpox hospital, which is fenced off.
View of the grounds from an earlier boat tour.
The Octagon building is all that's left of the notorious New York City Lunatic Asylum (photos from our boat tour). It now serves as the entrance to an apartment complex.
In 1887, Nellie Bly went undercover for the New York World newspaper (published by Joseph Pulitzer) and faked insanity to get admitted. She was brought here to Blackwell Island and the New York World got her released after 10 days. The deplorable conditions and treatment were exposed in Bly's subsequent series of articles that were later compiled in a book, "10 Days in a Mad House." (It's a horrifying read.)
The Graduate Hotel is the first hotel to open on Roosevelt Island and it is situated on the campus of Cornell Tech. We didn't have a chance to visit its rooftop bar but it must be amazing.
On the northern end of the island stands a 50 foot lighthouse, built in 1872 by prisoners. We didn't walk the entire island so these photos were also taken from the boat tour.
Take a half day or so to explore this historic gem of New York City.
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