Roosevelt Island, New York

You remember Shutter Island, the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio – the psychiatric facility located on an island in Boston Harbor, the scary lighthouse where human experiments allegedly took place – you get the idea. Roosevelt Island’s history isn’t much different.  Roosevelt Island was known as Welfare Island until 1973, and was formerly home to hospitals, insane asylums and correctional facilities.

On the southern end of Roosevelt Island is the abandoned Smallpox Hospital.  It’s scary. Someone spraypainted a ghost on one of the outer walls.  There are metal bars to help keep the structure standing.  They are also scary.

Then there is the Octagon, located on the northern part of Roosevelt Island.  The Octagon is the former New York City Lunatic Asylum.  In 2006, it was converted into the entrance to an apartment complex.

On the northern tip of Roosevelt Island is the Lighthouse.  While picturesque, rumor has it, it was built by one of the patients in the Lunatic Asylum.

In all seriousness though, Roosevelt Island is actually quite nice.  The Roosevelt Island Historic Walk runs along the west side of the island directly across from Manhattan’s East 46th to 85th Streets. It’s peaceful, smells like the ocean (always a reminder of childhood for me) and dons stunning views of Manhatten and the bridges over the East River.

There are several parks with lush green grass and weeping willows.

Roosevelt Island also has some interesting quirks.  There is a series of sculptures in the water titled The Marriage of Money and Real Estate by Tom Otterness (built in 1996), and a lookout point/performance stage in the shape of a boat.

While nice for a stroll, there isn’t much else to do on Roosevelt Island.  Other than a summer popup restaurant with a view of the city, there are only a few restaurants along Main Street. However, if you’re looking for a quiet place to picnic or to take a stroll or run without city crowds, Roosevelt Island is the perfect place.  If you’d prefer not to walk the 2 miles from the southern point to the northern point, there is a red bus that runs up and down Main Street and costs only a quarter.

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