Photo, Print, Drawing 5. Interior view of Powerhouse - Ellis Island, Island 3 Powerhouse, New York Harbor, New York County, NY Photos from Survey HABS NY-6086-X

About this Item

About this Item

Title
Ellis Island, Island 3 Powerhouse, New York Harbor, New York County, NY
Contributor Names
Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury
Taylor, James Knox
Arzola, Robert R, project manager
Lockett, Dana, project manager
Rosenthal, James W, photographer
Statue of Liberty National Monument, sponsor
Taylor, Rachel Lanier, historian
Davidson, Lisa Pfueller, historian
Davidson, Paul, field team supervisor
De Sousa, Daniel, field team supervisor
Melendez, Ruben, delineator
Nieves Viruet, Angelivette, delineator
Haley, Kelly, delineator
Ortiz, Jarob J, photographer
Created / Published
Documentation compiled after 1933
Subject Headings
-  powerhouses
-  morgues
-  laundry
-  boilers
-  incinerators
-  nurses' residences
-  New York -- New York County
Latitude / Longitude
40.698097,-74.043293
Notes
-  Significance: The Powerhouse and Laundry Building was constructed during 1906-1908 as part of the Contagious Disease Hospital complex on Island 3 of the Ellis Island U.S. Immigration Station. Construction of the hospital significantly expanded the facilities run by the United States Public Health and Marine Hospital Service (after 1912, U.S. Public Health Service or USPHS) in conjunction with the Bureau of Immigration at Ellis Island. Ellis Island officials lobbied for the Island 3 Hospital following the New York Public Health Department's announcement that it no longer intended to provide care for immigrants suffering from contagious diseases. With support among local health officials dwindling and concerns about the spread of contagious diseases like favus, measles, scarlet fever, and trachoma enduring, officials sought to expand the medical capabilities available on the island. This expansion, Ellis Island authorities believed, required the additional power, sanitizing, and staff facilities provided by the Island 3 Powerhouse and Laundry Building. The Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury, James Knox Taylor, designed and oversaw construction of the Powerhouse and Laundry Building, working closely with Chief Engineer and Superintendent of the U.S. Public Buildings of New York City, Alfred Brooks Fry. In addition to its power and heat production, laundry, and sanitizing facilities, the Island 3 Powerhouse housed water tanks and heavy pumps for a high pressure firefighting system. It provided dining and kitchen facilities for medical and non-medical employees, and the second floor was divided into separate men's and women's staff quarters. Located at the southwest corner of Ellis Island, the uneven U-shaped building follows the Georgian Revival exterior design of other Island 3 hospital buildings. It has a red tile roof, pebble and dash stucco wall treatment, and red brick and limestone quoins and details. The Powerhouse and Laundry Building is distinguished by the presence of circular, metal sash windows on the upper level of the powerhouse wing and an 87-foot yellow brick chimney stack that rises from an octagonal base on the east side. The Island 3 Powerhouse helped provide heat and electricity to Ellis Island during periods of high-demand in the winters of 1911 and 1912. It may have continued to provide power during peak periods in ensuing years, though this remains unclear in source material. During this time the building continued to house hospital staff and served as a laundry and sanitizing space. Due to changing energy requirements, improvements at the powerhouse on Island 1, and the conversion of the Island 3 Mortuary into a space to house laboratory animals, the engine room of the Powerhouse and Laundry Building was converted into a mortuary and autopsy theater in 1936. In March of 1951 the USPHS vacated the hospital facilities and the U.S. Coast Guard Port Security Unit adopted some of the space on Island 3 for file storage. The Ellis Island U.S. Immigration Station closed on November 12, 1954. The hospital complex has remained largely unoccupied even following its inclusion in the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965, under the administration of the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service.
-  Survey number: HABS NY-6086-X
-  Building/structure dates: 1906-1908 Initial Construction
-  Building/structure dates: 1914 Subsequent Work
-  Building/structure dates: 1924 Subsequent Work
-  Building/structure dates: ca. 1936 Subsequent Work
-  National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 66000058
Medium
Photo(s): 5
Photo Caption Page(s): 1
Call Number/Physical Location
HABS NY-6086-X
Source Collection
Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
Control Number
ny2383
Rights Advisory
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
Online Format
image
pdf

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, Office Of The Supervising Architect Of The Treasury, James Knox Taylor, Robert R Arzola, Dana Lockett, Sponsor Statue Of Liberty National Monument, Rachel Lanier Taylor, et al., Rosenthal, James W, and Jarob J Ortiz, photographer. Ellis Island, Island 3 Powerhouse, New York Harbor, New York County, NY. New York New York County, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/ny2383/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, C., Office Of The Supervising Architect Of The Treasury, Taylor, J. K., Arzola, R. R., Lockett, D., Statue Of Liberty National Monument, S. [...] Haley, K., Rosenthal, J. W. & Ortiz, J. J., photographer. (1933) Ellis Island, Island 3 Powerhouse, New York Harbor, New York County, NY. New York New York County, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/ny2383/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, et al., photographers by Rosenthal, James W, and Jarob J Ortiz. Ellis Island, Island 3 Powerhouse, New York Harbor, New York County, NY. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/ny2383/>.

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