Willard Parker Hospital

The Willard Parker Hospital (1885–1955) for communicable diseases was located on East 16th Street along the East River in New York City. It was founded by the City of New York in 1885. It was named after Willard Parker, a prominent physician and surgeon, who at the time was a member of the Citizens' Association which called for the state legislature to establish an independent city health department. Parker later became the Vice President of the first New York City Board of Health.[1][2][3]

History

At the time of its opening, there were only two other hospitals in New York City, Bellevue Hospital and New York Hospital, now called Old New York Hospital and formerly known as Broadway Hospital. It initially opened wards for the care of patients with scarlet fever and measles. Within a year, a renovation of the building allowed the inclusion of a diphtheria ward.[1][4]

In 1913, funds were raised for a new building along the same location.[5] The hospital became a teaching resource in infectious diseases for area medical and nursing schools.

In 1928, the hospital opened its own school of nursing, a 32-month program that awarded a diploma in nursing and qualified the graduates to sit for state licensing examinations granting Registered Nurse licensure.[6]

Philip Zimbardo was quarantined at the hospital for a six-month period beginning in November 1938 after he developed double pneumonia and whooping cough. During his stay at the hospital, Zimbardo learned to read and write from comic books.[7]

The hospital closed in 1955 due to a lack of patients.[8][9]

In 1960, Con Edison acquired the site at an auction of city-owned parcels and intended to use the property as a future expansion of the East River Generating Station.[10] The sale of land had to be subsequently authorized by the New York State Legislature after it was determined that part of the property had once been land under water.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Walsh, James Joseph (1919). History of Medicine in New York. Three Centuries of Medical Progress. Vol. 3. New York: National Americana Society. OCLC 2481484. Retrieved September 27, 2025 – via National Library of Medicine.
  2. ^ Dancis, Joseph; Parks, Wade (July 1992). "Introduction". Pediatrics. 90 (1). American Academy of Pediatrics: iv. doi:10.1542/peds.90.1.iv.
  3. ^ New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (2005). "Protecting Public Health in New York City: 200 Years of Leadership 1805–2005". New York City Department of Health Publications. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
  4. ^ "Old New York Hospital". The New York Times. February 11, 1900. p. 5. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
  5. ^ Emerson, Haven; Hopping, Aleita (February 1925). "Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria and Measles at Willard Parker Hospital, New York City 1919–1923: A Study Carried out at the Request of the Medical Board of the Hospital". American Journal of Public Health. American Public Health Association. 15(Suppl): 1–32. PMC 1320416. Retrieved October 18, 2014 – via National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
  6. ^ Gage, Nina D. (August 1928). "The School at The Willard Parker Hospital". American Journal of Nursing. 28 (8). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins: 780–782. doi:10.2307/3408473. JSTOR 3408473.
  7. ^ Zimbardo, Philip; Ganus, Mel (April 4, 2020). "A Formative Quarantine in an Earlier Era". Psychology Today. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  8. ^ Bennett, Charles G. (August 31, 1955). "Parker Hospital to Be Shut Down". The New York Times. p. 27. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  9. ^ Stimson, Philip M. (December 1962). "What Has Happened to Our Contagious Disease Hospitals?". Clinical Pediatrics. 1 (3): 131–132. doi:10.1177/000992286200100126. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  10. ^ "City's Willard Parker Hospital Sold to Con Edison at Auction". The New York Times. March 25, 1960. p. 45. Retrieved October 11, 2025.
  11. ^ Dales, Douglas (March 14, 1961). "City's Land Sale Wins Close Vote". The New York Times. p. 25. Retrieved October 11, 2025.


40°43′46″N 73°58′23″W / 40.72944°N 73.97306°W / 40.72944; -73.97306


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