Strecker Memorial Laboratory
Roosevelt Island | built 1975
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1888
Frederick Clarke Withers and Walter Dickson form the partnership that designs the Strecker laboratory
Frederick Clarke Withers, an Englishman who had worked with Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted, formed a new partnership with Walter Dickson in 1888. The two served as supervising architects for the Commission of Charities and Correction, and their Roosevelt Island work included the Strecker Memorial Laboratory and three brick buildings for the Almshouse.
- 1892
Strecker Memorial Laboratory opens on Blackwell's Island for City Hospital's pathology work
Built in 1892 from designs by Withers & Dickson, the Strecker Memorial Laboratory was a gift from the daughter of a Mr. Strecker and was run under Charity Hospital, later City Hospital, for pathological and bacteriological work. The ground floor held a specimen-examination room, an autopsy room and a mortuary, while upstairs were rooms for deeper research and experiment. The Landmarks Commission later called it, for its day, a complete and scientifically advanced pathological laboratory that served as a model.
“The building was the gift of the daughter of a Mr. Strecker…”
- 1892
Withers & Dickson build in rough island gneiss and orange brick, echoing H. H. Richardson
The Landmarks Commission describes the laboratory as a late Romanesque Revival design in the manner of H. H. Richardson, with broad arches and rock-faced gray gneiss quarried on the island. Smooth orange brick forms the quoins, arches and window frames, and the triple windows under single big arches recall Richardson's Marshall Field Wholesale Store in Chicago. The report notes that Walter Dickson was probably more responsible than his senior partner, Frederick Clarke Withers, a Gothic-minded church architect.
“…it could be surmised that Dickson was largely responsible for the design.”
- 1892
A daughter of Mr. Strecker gives the money for the pathology laboratory
According to the city's landmark report, the laboratory, built in 1892, was paid for by a daughter of a Mr. Strecker. Dr. Charles G. Child Jr., in his 1904 history of City Hospital, cited it as an illustration of the lasting good a thoughtful woman can do to honor the memory of someone dear.
“The building was the gift of the daughter of a Mr. Strecker, and as Dr. Charles G. Child, Jr., wrote in his history of City Hospital (1904)…”
- 1905
The laboratory gains a third story, probably at the urging of pathologist Horst Oertel
In 1905 the laboratory was remodeled, probably at the urging of its head pathologist, Horst Oertel, an immigrant familiar with the pioneering work of Rudolf Virchow in Europe. Architect William Flanagan Jr. added a third story, giving space for histological examinations plus a museum and library. The report says the new floor harmonizes completely with the original design.
“In 1905, the laboratory was remodeled, probably at the urging of the head pathologist, Horst Oertel.”
- 1907
Russell Sage endowment creates the Russell Sage Institute of Pathology, first housed in the laboratory
In 1907 the Russell Sage Foundation gave Horst Oertel an endowment, and the Russell Sage Institute of Pathology began in the Strecker Memorial Laboratory. After new quarters were built for the institute it moved out, while the laboratory remained the pathology center for City Hospital and the City Home, the former Almshouse, on the island.
- 1972
The laboratory is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The Strecker Memorial Laboratory was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. By then the laboratory, which had stopped work in the 1950s, had fallen into disrepair. Four years later it was designated a New York City landmark.
“…work continued at the laboratory until it closed in the 1950s, after which it fell into disrepair. In 1972, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1975
Three witnesses back landmark status for the laboratory at a Landmarks Commission hearing
The Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on November 25, 1975, on designating the Strecker Laboratory and its site. Three witnesses spoke in favor and none opposed. The Roosevelt Island Development Corporation's representatives voiced reservations but agreed to designation.
“Three witnesses spoke in favor of designation. There were no speakers in opposition to designation.”
- 1976
Landmarks Preservation Commission designates Strecker Laboratory a New York City landmark
After a public hearing on November 25, 1975, at which three witnesses spoke in favor and none against, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the laboratory on March 23, 1976. Representatives of the Roosevelt Island Development Corporation voiced reservations but agreed. The commission cited the building's Romanesque Revival design and its status, when built, as a model of a complete and scientifically advanced pathological laboratory.
“Three witnesses spoke in favor of designation. There were no speakers in opposition to designation.”
- 2002
Strecker Laboratory is converted into a subway power substation after decades of neglect
According to the architects, the laboratory was decommissioned and vacated in 1958 and fell into disrepair. The New York City Transit Authority began converting it into a substation in 1990, and the architects date the completion to 2002. Page Ayres Cowley Architecture restored the exterior while fitting the interior for high-voltage equipment and seismic requirements. The Landmarks Conservancy honored the project with a Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award.
Source: pac-arch.com
Further reading
- Strecker Memorial LaboratoryWikipedia
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