Week 5 of The History of Staten Island – Part 2, a seven-session lecture series with Patricia M. Salmon at the Noble Maritime Collection.* 

Abandoned Staten Island - This island was the location for many facilities and institutions from the early 1800s through the 1980s. It was believed that Staten Island had clean air and a healthful environment to benefit the needy, ill, and destitute. What it really had was ample acreage at a cheap price with a close proximity to Manhattan and an available work force. Many of these institutions have ceased to exist and the land they stood on is vacant and abandoned. During this program, we will look at some of these facilities and their existing landscapes. The former Seaman’s Retreat (recently Bayley Seton Hospital), the Farm Colony and Sea View Hospital, the S.R. Smith Infirmary/Staten Island Hospital; and Swinburne and Hoffman Islands will be discussed, as will Staten Island, Fountain, and Trinity Chapel cemeteries. The founding facts about these sites, their history, and their demise will be deliberated.

Presentations will include a PowerPoint, lecture, video clips, question and answer periods, sources for future research by participants, handouts, and guest speakers.

Individual sessions $10 each; museum members $9 each

*Please note that participation in The History of Staten Island Part 1 is not a requirement for this series.