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Trinity HospitalI've created a page devoted to Trinity Hospital because it remains a bit of an unsolved mystery. A thanks to Neil Sullivan who has also jumped aboard this investigation, and the page is our combined efforts to unravel its history and fate. |
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Dr. Campbell's Hospital Dated:Unk Maker:Commercial Post Card Co. Status: Need It started with this undated postcard. Jack Termine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center solved this one for us. William Francis Campbell (1865-1926) was surgeon-in-chief, and is influential in the creation of the hospital in memory of his mother. | |
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Trinity Hospital Maker: P. Miller Dated: 1915 Status: Own(BG) This P. Miller card from 1915 then identified the structure as Trinity Hospital which gave us something to work with. Neat tidbit- the sign in front reads "Hospital Street- Walk Your Horse". | |
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Trinity Hospital This image was taken from "Good Old East New York" and identified the building as the James Williams residence, located at the intersection of Williams, Fulton and East New York Avenue. Neil did some digging and came up with an address of 1835 East New York Ave. There has been some confusion between the founding of Lutheran Hospital and this one. I recently uncovered a reference that dates Trinity only to 1913, which would be consistent with Campbell's involvement. | |
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Trinity Hospital, 1923 This 1923 image is nothing special but it comes with important details; "This house, dating from 1843, has also been known as the Tubbs Hotel. It originally faced the intersection of the Brooklyn and Jamaica Plank Road (Fulton St. ) and Flatbush Road (East New York Ave.). Now (1922) the house faces East New York Ave., having been turned and moved 100 feet westward. On the King's County map of 1873 the Williams estate owned lots 21 to 50 in the area. The Trinity Hospital owns most of this property, and occupies this house (in 1937)." | |
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Map of location,1873, 1893 These Plat maps line up with the description above. In 1873 the structure sits near the corner and by 1893 has been turned and is sitting on lots 27 and 28. |
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View Down East New York Avenue, 1923 This is a closeup of the image in Zone 1, looking down East New York Avenue and the turret of Trinity Hospital is visible in the distance. | |
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Trinity Hospital, looking north up Alabama, 1929 Along comes this shot which really adds to the confusion. If we are looking north up Alabama from Fulton, shouldn't we see some elevated train tracks? The hospital looks significantly different. Neil tracked down mention that the building was stuccoed and enlarged in 1924, which appears to be confirmed by the issuance of a CO in December 1924. From the Plat map above, we can safely conclude the image was misidentified and the view is up Williams St. |
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1831 East New York Ave, 1940 Neil tried to track down the tax photo for the hospital but alas it does not appear to exist. The house on the left in those early postcards was still there as seen in this tax photo. I believe the structure you can partially see on the right is the renovated hospital. The 2006 photo on the right is not the same house but one two doors down to the left; most of that corner has long been demolished. The 1938 article we found in the Record indicates demolishing the building was a foregone conclusion. 
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Trinity Hospital Site, 2006 I found an article in the New York Times from November 1939 where a special commission studying New York's Hospitals recommends Trinity be closed. I have not pinpointed the closing date yet. Neil supplies a shot of the area where we believe the hospital was located. Changing road widths have altered the location. On the right is a CO from 1954 for a gas station at this address. So we have pieced together a bit of history but would still like to know the complete story. Thanks to Neil Sullivan for his contributions to this investigation. |