The Haunting Abandoned Island In The Middle Of NYC

The Haunted Feel Of The Island

North Brother Island was abandoned in 1963 after being used as a sanitarium and rehab center for victims of typhoid and smallpox nearly 80 years up to that point.

It had been such a busy place that at one point in the island’s history that there were more than 40 buildings covering the island — including a hospital, a church, a morgue, dormitory style accommodation, a lighthouse and more. Now, as you will see, the island wreaks of a forgotten, haunting and eerie presence filled with rust, dust and fossilized furniture that was used so long ago. Broken and eroding chairs, dusty old books with ripped up pages coated with aged ink, stained and busted bath tubs filled with debris and broken windows, are just some of the things you will find on the island.

Tuberculosis Pavilion Today

Here we see the Tuberculosis Pavilion Wing that was added on in 1941 in its current state. It’s hard to imagine that this building with busted windows and growing vines once saved thousands of lives that were suffering from the awful disease of tuberculosis, isn’t it?

With one of the most difficult recovery processes in medicine, victims of the disease were quarantined off in these quarters as they remained infectious until complete recovery. Although at the time the wing was very much necessary, the superstructure was soon rendered useless due to the introduction of vaccination programs and effective antibiotic treatments; it was closed just two years after its arrival.