smallpox hospital

OK, that's not really the name of this building. Still, it has come to be known as that. This was taken on Roosevelt Island, formerly Blackwell's Island, a small island off NYC that was over the years home to a debtors' prison, an insane asylum, and those with contagious diseases such as smallpox. People were basically shipped to this alternative island from NYC if they were deemed unfit in some way. Funny, I felt right at home there. Actually, I went to shoot a public art installation called The Encampment that documented some of the island's rich history in a field of 100 small outdoor tents.