Bloomingdale Insane Asylum
Encyclopedia
The Bloomingdale Insane Asylum was a private hospital for the care of the mentally ill founded by New York Hospital
. It occupied the land in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan
where Columbia University
is now located.
The road leading from the thriving city of New York in lower Manhattan
to the asylum was called Bloomingdale Road in the nineteenth century, and is now called Broadway
. The term 'Bloomingdale' dates back to the era of Dutch rule in New Amsterdam, and is possibly a reference to "Bloemendael," the name of a small village in the flower-growing region near Haarlem
in the Netherlands
.
, the large, "elegantly detailed Federal style brownstone building" was ready for occupancy in 1821.
The New York Hospital began caring for the mentally ill in the eighteenth century and at the time the asylum was built it was the only hospital in the state caring for the mentally ill. In 1840, a new hospital was built for the indigent mentally ill on Blackwell's Island, now Roosevelt Island
, and the Bloomingdale Asylum became the exclusive preserve of those whose families could afford to pay for their care. Plans to expand the asylum began in 1826. Two new buildings had been added by 1829 and the campus would continue to expand for many decades.
The grounds of the asylum were elegantly laid out with walks and gardens. Farming and gardening were considered therapeutic, so there was a working farm with orchards, vegetable gardens, barns and pasture land.
In the 1880s, with the city expanding northward, the trustees of the New York Hospital began to sell parts of the Asylum's land to various institutions, including an orphan's asylum on the campus of what is now the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The trustees of Columbia College, now Columbia University, bought the bulk of the Bloomingdale Asylum property in 1892 and began planning the construction of a new campus. The Bloomingdale Asylum moved to a new campus in White Plains
. It is now known as Cornell Westchester, and is affiliated with the Cornell University Medical School.
The university occupied several buildings former the old asylum in the early years. The last building erected on the Bloomingdale Asylum's Morningside Heights campus was the Macy Villa, a gabled, brick building with white trim, which was designed by architect Ralph Townsend to resemble a private home for the comfort of wealthy gentlemen afflicted with mental illnesses, and donated by William H. Macy in 1885. It is the only building from the old asylum that survives. It has had a number of uses over the years, but is now known as Buell Hall and houses La Maison Française.
The American artist, Charles Deas
, was institutionalized at the asylum from 1848 until his death in 1867.
, conducted an undercover investigation of the institution by having himself committed with the help of his senior editor and some of his friends. After ten days, they had him released and a series of articles was published in the New York Tribune
exposing abuses of inmates. This led to a dozen patients being released, who were determined to be sane, and members of the administration being dismissed and reorganized.
New York Hospital
New York Hospital or “Old New York Hospital” or “City Hospital” was the oldest hospital in New York City and the second oldest hospital in the United States.-Early History:...
. It occupied the land in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
where Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
is now located.
The road leading from the thriving city of New York in lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
to the asylum was called Bloomingdale Road in the nineteenth century, and is now called Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
. The term 'Bloomingdale' dates back to the era of Dutch rule in New Amsterdam, and is possibly a reference to "Bloemendael," the name of a small village in the flower-growing region near Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
History
The history of the Bloomingdale Asylum begins with a movement suggested first in an address by Dr. Peter Middleton, in Columbia (then King’s) College, New York, November 3, 1769: “The necessity and usefulness of a public Infirmary has been so warmly and pathetically set forth in a discourse delivered by Dr. Samuel Bard, at the college commencement, in May last, that his Excellency, Sir Henry Moore immediately set on foot a subscription for that purpose to which himself and most of the gentlemen present liberally contributed.” Subscriptions to this fund were continued and in 1770 Doctors Peter Middleton, John Jones and Samuel Bard presented to the Colonial Government a petition for the incorporation of a public Hospital which was granted by a charter bearing the date of June 13, 1771 incorporating the “Society of the Hospital in the city of New York, in America”, later termed the "Society of the New York Hospital". Between 1816 and 1818 the Society of the New York Hospital purchased 26 acres (105,218.4 m²) of land on which to build an asylum in a part of upper Manhattan, then largely farmland and referred to as Bloomingdale Asylum. According to Andrew DolkartAndrew Dolkart
Andrew Scott Dolkart is the James Marston Fitch Associate Professor of Historic Preservation at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and Director of the school's Historic Preservation Program...
, the large, "elegantly detailed Federal style brownstone building" was ready for occupancy in 1821.
The New York Hospital began caring for the mentally ill in the eighteenth century and at the time the asylum was built it was the only hospital in the state caring for the mentally ill. In 1840, a new hospital was built for the indigent mentally ill on Blackwell's Island, now Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island, known as Welfare Island from 1921 to 1973, and before that Blackwell's Island, is a narrow island in the East River of New York City. It lies between the island of Manhattan to its west and the borough of Queens to its east...
, and the Bloomingdale Asylum became the exclusive preserve of those whose families could afford to pay for their care. Plans to expand the asylum began in 1826. Two new buildings had been added by 1829 and the campus would continue to expand for many decades.
The grounds of the asylum were elegantly laid out with walks and gardens. Farming and gardening were considered therapeutic, so there was a working farm with orchards, vegetable gardens, barns and pasture land.
In the 1880s, with the city expanding northward, the trustees of the New York Hospital began to sell parts of the Asylum's land to various institutions, including an orphan's asylum on the campus of what is now the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The trustees of Columbia College, now Columbia University, bought the bulk of the Bloomingdale Asylum property in 1892 and began planning the construction of a new campus. The Bloomingdale Asylum moved to a new campus in White Plains
White Plains, New York
White Plains is a city and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...
. It is now known as Cornell Westchester, and is affiliated with the Cornell University Medical School.
The university occupied several buildings former the old asylum in the early years. The last building erected on the Bloomingdale Asylum's Morningside Heights campus was the Macy Villa, a gabled, brick building with white trim, which was designed by architect Ralph Townsend to resemble a private home for the comfort of wealthy gentlemen afflicted with mental illnesses, and donated by William H. Macy in 1885. It is the only building from the old asylum that survives. It has had a number of uses over the years, but is now known as Buell Hall and houses La Maison Française.
The American artist, Charles Deas
Charles Deas
Charles Deas , was an American painter noted for his oil paintings of Native Americans and fur trappers of the mid-19th century.-Biography:...
, was institutionalized at the asylum from 1848 until his death in 1867.
Controversy
In 1872, the New York journalist, Julius ChambersJulius Chambers
Julius Chambers, F.R.G.S.,There is disparity about an unused first name. The Americana Vol.4 calls him Charles Julius Chambers, Dictionary of American Biography and The Delta Kappa Epsilon Quarterly call him James Julius Chambers. Regardless of the correct name, he used neither one in...
, conducted an undercover investigation of the institution by having himself committed with the help of his senior editor and some of his friends. After ten days, they had him released and a series of articles was published in the New York Tribune
New York Tribune
The New York Tribune was an American newspaper, first established by Horace Greeley in 1841, which was long considered one of the leading newspapers in the United States...
exposing abuses of inmates. This led to a dozen patients being released, who were determined to be sane, and members of the administration being dismissed and reorganized.