A History of America’s First Cancer Hospital: Castle on the Park

On the PRX radio program 99% Invisible, an episode caught my attention over the weekend (midnight driving, listening to satellite radio again…).  Castle on the Park is the story of the nation’s first hospital devoted solely to the treatment of cancer, built in 1887 as a veritable castle on Central Park West in NYC. 

The building’s fairytale appearance, it turns out, wasn’t unusual for hospitals of the time. These facilities were built like  aristocratic mansions, with high walls, gatehouses, elaborate entries, and sometimes turrets, as a way of enticing wealthy patients.

In the late 1800s, hospitals were charitable institutions run by philanthropists, where poor people went for care. The wealthy mostly received care at home. Architect Charles Haight hoped the luxurious design of the New York Cancer Hospital would be a lure for paying customers.

Some aspects of the facility were cutting edge and influential, including the notion that to avoid infections, hospitals should eliminate corners in rooms that would be difficult to clean, while other innovations were, perhaps, ahead of their time, including the decision to use radium for cancer treatment.

It wasn’t until the 1930s or that surgery improved and chemotherapy and other organized radiation treatments made cancer care very lucrative. In 1939, the cancer hospital left 455 Central Park West for the Upper East Side, where it  became Memorial Sloan Kettering, which is now known as one of the best hospitals for cancer treatment in the U.S.

The original castle-like structure became a nursing home — a notorious one — and eventually its doors were closed.  However, in more evidence that everything comes full circle, especially in New York City, the location has been turned into luxury condos.  As PRX radio’s Roman Mars and Jessica Miller conclude, “Finally, after a hundred years of imitating upscale real estate, the castle on the park finally is actually what its always wanted to be: a nice place for rich people.” 

You can listen to the more detailed radio story, or read it, with pictures, here.