The former New York Cancer Hospital at 455 Central Park West with its round towers

Ruins & abandonedManhattan

New York Cancer Hospital, the Upper West Side’s Abandoned “Castle”

The New York Cancer Hospital stands at 455 Central Park West, between West 105th and 106th Streets on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Designed by Charles Coolidge Haight in a French château style, it opened in the 1880s as the first hospital in the country dedicated to cancer. After years of neglect it was converted into apartments, so today it is an outstanding building to admire from the sidewalk.

A red-brick château with round towers rose beside Central Park in the 1880s as the first hospital in the United States devoted only to cancer. It later sat empty for decades and locals called it “the castle.”

WhereManhattan, Upper West Side, on Central Park West at West 106th Street

TypeFormer hospital, now a residential building and city landmark

Best forArchitecture lovers, medical history and a stroll along Central Park

Getting thereSeen from the street; the building is now private housing, so there is no public access inside

The history of the New York Cancer Hospital

In 1884 former president Ulysses S. Grant developed throat cancer, and his decline drew the attention of the whole country. At the time cancer was considered incurable, and even contagious and shameful. That same year prominent New Yorkers, among them John Jacob Astor III, Elizabeth H. Cullum, John E. Parsons, Thomas A. Emmet and Joseph W. Drexel, laid the cornerstone of a hospital devoted only to cancer. The surgeon J. Marion Sims, a former president of the American Medical Association, had been closely involved in the idea before his death. It was the first cancer hospital in the United States and the second in the world after the one in London.

Charles Coolidge Haight designed the building in a Late Gothic and French château style inspired by the châteaux of the Loire Valley. Construction ran from 1884 to 1886, with additions between 1889 and 1890. The first section, for women only, was dedicated in December 1887 and named the Astor Pavilion. Haight used deep red brick and soft brown brownstone, a stone common in New York, and gave the building great conical towers. Inside he placed round wards about 40 feet across, with a central air shaft, to improve ventilation and to avoid sharp corners where dirt and germs could collect.

In its early years treatment was mostly palliative, meaning that it eased pain rather than cured. Patients could attend services in the hospital chapel or go on carriage rides in Central Park. The institution had money troubles and a grim reputation, and it changed its name to the General Memorial Hospital and later to the General Memorial Hospital for the Treatment of Cancer and Allied Diseases. In 1921 Marie Curie visited to see the vault where the hospital kept its radium. In 1955 the hospital moved to the East Side and grew into what is now Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

The old building then became a nursing home, which closed in 1974 after state and federal investigations. It was left in poor condition, and demolition was discussed before the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission designated it a landmark in 1976. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. After nearly three decades of abandonment, a developer began work in 2000, and the project was delayed after the September 11 attacks. The conversion into luxury apartments, with a new tower beside it, was completed around 2005 and the address became 455 Central Park West.

Little-known facts about the New York Cancer Hospital

The round towers were not only decoration: the architect designed circular wards so that a nurse at a central desk could see all the beds and to avoid corners where germs and dirt could gather.
A duct ran up the center of each tower to remove stale air from the wards, a feature that the New York Times described in 1888 as a new departure in hospital construction.
In 1921 Marie Curie visited to see the vault where the hospital kept about four grams of radium, then reported as the largest accumulation in the world.
Because the disease was so feared, patients and donors came to call the hospital “the Bastille.”
After it was abandoned, neighbors nicknamed the building “the castle” because of its Gothic towers.
The first wing was named the Astor Pavilion in recognition of the generous gifts of John Jacob Astor III. Stories say that the converted building is haunted, though the sources give no details.

Tours near New York Cancer Hospital

Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:

Private Food Tour in the Upper West Side | Tasty Tours NYC

★ 5 (89 reviews) · 2 h

See details ›

Oppenheimer in New York: Upper West Side Walking Tour

★ 5 (14 reviews) · 2.5 h

See details ›

Seeing the New York Cancer Hospital today

The building is now a private residential building called 455 Central Park West. There is no public access inside, and the best way to see it is from the sidewalk on Central Park West.
Look for the deep red brick, the brownstone details and the large conical towers, which are the features that earned it the nickname “the castle.”
The façade faces Central Park, so you can combine the visit with a walk in the park’s northern end.
The building is a New York City landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Please respect the privacy of the residents when taking photographs.

Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.

Map: where New York Cancer Hospital is

Photos of New York Cancer Hospital

Exterior of the former New York Cancer Hospital, a red brick building with conical towers

Another view of the former New York Cancer Hospital facade on Central Park West

Historic illustration of the New York Cancer Hospital at Central Park West and 106th Street

The former hospital at 455 Central Park West seen from the east

The former hospital at 455 Central Park West seen from the southeast

Questions

What was the New York Cancer Hospital?

It was a cancer treatment and research hospital founded in 1884 on Central Park West. It was the first hospital in the United States dedicated to cancer and the second in the world after London.

Can you go inside the New York Cancer Hospital?

No. The building has been converted into private apartments, so it can only be admired from the street.

Where is the New York Cancer Hospital?

At 455 Central Park West, between West 105th and 106th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Who designed the building?

Charles Coolidge Haight designed it in a Late Gothic and French château style, with round towers inspired by the châteaux of the Loire Valley.

What happened to the hospital?

In 1955 the hospital moved to the East Side and became Memorial Sloan Kettering. The old building became a nursing home that closed in 1974, stood empty for years and was turned into apartments around 2005.

Why was the hospital called the castle?

Its large round towers and red brick look like a French château, so people in the neighborhood nicknamed the abandoned building “the castle.”