New York City - a photo on Flickriver

New York City

             St Vincent's Catholic Medical Center or St Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village sadly closed its doors in the bad economy under much controversy in 2010.  The medical center had a large footprint in the Greenwich Village and at the time of its closure was the third oldest hospital in New York City after The New York Hospital and Bellevue Hospital founded as a medical facility in 1849 when there was a cholera epidemic in New York as one of the few charity hospitals in New York to treat the needy and poor.  Started by and run primarily throughout its early history by nuns it was named St Vincent after St. Vincent de Paul a seventeenth century French priest who is the patron saint of charities and hospitals.  St. Vincent de Paul congregation Daughters of Charity were the inspiration of the Sisters of Charity started in Maryland by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton who was a New York native and Catholic convert.  My youngest daughter attends the College of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown New Jersey which was started by the Sisters of Charity and named the school after Elizabeth Ann Seton. 
 The storied history of this institution continued as in 1870 it launched its first horse drawn ambulance and in 1892 St Vincent’s open a school of nursing.  The Sisters of Charity admitted anyone without regard of the patients religious belief or their economic means.  In 1912, when the RMS Carpathia docked at Pier 54 with the survivors of the RMS Titanic, survivors were treated at St Vincent’s and the tragedy of the Titanic took the life of one of St Vincent’s own, Dr. Francis Norman O’Loughlin.  In 1975 when the historic Fraunces  Tavern down by the southern tip of Manhattan was bombed by the Puerto Rican extremist nationalist group FALN, the injured were treated at St Vincent’s.  Lastly for the survivors and injured of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 St Vincent’s was the primary admitting hospital, with staff working around the clock to deal with those affected.  There were many many pictures of missing, so many that St Vincent’s dedicated an entire outside wall to post the photos.  This Wall of Hope and Remembrance was kept for years after 2001.
This image captured in August of 2012, 2 years after the closing but a year before the wrecking ball came a calling. The some of the buildings of the hospital complex are being re-purposed but the bulk of the property will be new housing.

   

Taken in: United States / New York / New York / West Village (show map)

Taken on: August 18, 2012

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NEWYORK

STVINCENTSHOSPITAL

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ELIZABETHANNSETON

GREENWICHVILLAGE

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RMSCARPATHIA

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FRAUNCESTAVERN

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Sets appears in: • Signs of the Times • New York's Greenwich Village more » • Abandoned, Disregarded or Just Plain Gone • New York and the Tragedy of the Titanic • 10 or more Likes • Shades of Gray • New York City « less

Groups appears in: • New York City • Abandoned more » • Greenwich Village, New York • Greenwich Village-New York City • New York Photography • Catholic Hospitals, Schools and buildings • New York Scenes « less

Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ50, f/8.0, 1/125 sec, 22.2mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Panasonic DMC-FZ50
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.008 sec (1/125)
Focal Length:	22.2mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	-0.66 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto bracket
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Contrast:	High
Saturation:	High
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0
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