North Brother Island

Taken in 1943 when WWII vets were being housed. Looking better than it did 40 years prior.

North Brother circa 1937 when its residents mostly suffered from venereal diseases.

This gym was added shortly before the facility closed to help treat juvenile addiction.

This abandoned examination table sits in the morgue. Use your imagination here.

Doctor's cottage.

The morgue sits on the right, the power plant on the left.

Nurses cottages.

Mother nature reclaiming her island.

An abandoned alter piece. Wonder what kind of services it saw.

Welcome to the North Brother quarantine zone. It rests between Queens and The Bronx, New York. Nowadays the island is home to birds and the general public isn't allowed. Thanks to photographer Ian Ference we can now get a look at ruins that mother nature is now reclaiming. In 1885 it saw use as a quarantine zone for people with infectious (and often fatal) diseases (including 6 who suffered from leprosy). It's most famous resident was Mary Mallon whom history will remember as Typhoid Mary who cooked there (no thanks I'll just starve). Conditions here were horrible and not many patients survived. In 1942, it was closed and briefly used to house WWII veterans. In 1952, New York tried to treat juvenile addicts but that didn't work. In 1963, the institution closed down and nature slowly began to reclaim it. Read the full article here. Enjoy the tour.