The city hospital


Text Source: Past and Present of Syracuse and Onondaga County New York, by The Rev. William M. Beauchamp, S.T.D., 1908, pg. 569

The new City Hospital in Teall avenue, costing fifteen thousand dollars, was first opened to public inspection on October 25, 1907.  The new diphtheria pavilion had accommodations for sixteen patients and their nurses.  Miss Millie Andre was placed at the head of the institution.  In the corner of the yard was the little four-room cottage used for two years for diphtheria patients, and where, during the epidemic of 1906 there were forty-six cases cared for with but one death.  Near the administration building was located the smallpox pavilion, with a capacity for eight patients.  The main building was provided with accommodations for seventy patients, without crowding.  The beginning of the City Hospital dates back to 1874, when Syracuse was swept with a disastrous epidemic of smallpox.  In 1875 the disease was stamped out, and while there are no complete records of cases the vital statistics figures places the number of deaths at two hundred and twenty-one.  It was estimated that the epidemic cost the city one hundred thousand dollars.  At that time the land was purchased for the site of the present City Hospital.  The old shack, which answered for a City Hospital and was called the "pest house" at that time, stood until 1892, when the cholera epidemic in New York made the city look to the safety of the city, and under the administration of Mayor Amos, the present administration building was erected to care for cholera if it should reach Syracuse.  In 1905, during the scarlet fever epidemic, the administration building was remodeled into a modern hospital.

Text Source: Syracuse and Its Environs, by Franklin H. Chase, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., Chicago, IL, 1924, pg. 492.

It was the smallpox epidemic of 1874-1875 that dictated the beginnings of the institution now known as the City Hospital.  The "pest house" was its common name.  It was so far out in the country at the time that it was believed it would be many years before it would trouble any nearby residents.  To-day it is in a populous section of Teall Avenue, it has been rebuilt and remodeled several times, and is one of the city's most important institutions.

The City Hospital at 416 Teall Avenue was opened to the public October 25, 1907.  In the corner of the yard was a little four-room cottage, which was used for two years for diphtheria patients.  During the epidemic of 1906 there were forty-six patients cared for with but one death.  The City Hospital has accommodations for seventy patients, and there are pavilions for smallpox and other contagious diseases.  In this hospital are nurses especially trained for the handling of contagious ailments.  Those who cannot pay are given free treatment, with a moderate charge for those who are able to pay.  The City Hospital is a defense against epidemic, and so appreciated by the medical fraternity. 

Onondaga County Medical Society, 1906-1956, by Genevieve M. Fahey, R.N. and A. C. Silverman, M.D., The Onondaga County Medical Society?, Syracuse? 1956, pp. 64-65.

Despite the proof in 1798 that smallpox could be prevented by vaccination, Syracuse was visited by an epidemic of smallpox in 1874 and the City had to erect a small building to house smallpox patients.  The following year a pavilion type of hospital was built on a large tract on Teall Avenue.  Scarlet Fever assumed epidemic proportion in 1889.  In 1891 the existing City Hospital building was repaired and a new one added.  By 1896 there were 4 separate pavilions:  one for smallpox, one for scarlet fever, one for diphtheria and one for other communicable diseases.  The old City Hospital took care of various epidemic diseases during its existence and played a part during the influenza epidemic in the first World War and in the polio epidemic in 1916.  Medical care was provided by a part time physician; parents could not visit their children except when they were convalescing and could play in the yard before being discharged. 

In the late 1920's it became apparent that new facilities would be required.  By that time, too, the thought of a medical center was crystallizing.  The City was requested to put up a building on ground provided by Syracuse University, and was actually the first unit of the Medical Center.  It opened its doors on November 22, 1928 and in 1953 the twenty-fifth anniversary was celebrated.  It is noteworthy that one of the speakers on that occasion was Dr. Jonas E. Salk, whose polio vaccine is now being utilized in this country and various parts of the civilized world.

Originally it was expected that one or more additional structures would be required, the thought being that difference diseases would have to be housed as in the old plant.  Newer isolation methods and later development of the so called miracle drugs so reduced the incidence of the serious epidemic diseases that there was no need for additional buildings.  Medical care for ward patients is supplied by the faculty of the Medical School and medical and nursing students receive instruction in the infectious diseases at the City Hospital.

Throughout these years the City of Syracuse, through its Health Department has made a generous contribution to the sick of the community.  In recent years the City Hospital's greatest effort has been in the care of patients with polio both from the City and from the surrounding counties.  Approximately 1800 polio patients have received care in the City Hospital since its opening.  It has been stated that 14 hospitals in the United States have cared for 80% of all cases of polio and the Syracuse City Hospitals is one of the 14.

The City Hospital stands ready to serve those sick with infectious diseases.  Both adults and children are admitted and a licensed physician may refer patients with certain diseases and provide care for his private patients.  Because of the low incidence of communicable diseases at the present time patients with other diseases have at times been admitted when the other hospitals could not take them.  The small size of the hospital gives a patient a greater feeling of hominess than is possible in a large institution.  On the other hand a small hospital carries a certain overhead even when few patients are cared for.  It may well be assumed that when a new University Hospital is built a more flexible arrangement can be made for taking care of communicable disease cases.  The City Hospital building is, however, in good condition and will surely be made use of for many years to come in one capacity or another.

Text Source:  A Short History of Hospitals in Syracuse, SUNY Upstate Medical University:  Health Services Library:  Historical Collections:  http://www.upstate.edu/library/history/hospitals.shtml

The City Hospital for Communicable Diseases was founded by the City of Syracuse in 1874 in reaction to a smallpox epidemic. The following year it moved to a large lot on Teall Avenue. In 1928 it rebuilt on land which Syracuse University provided to the city on Renwick Avenue just west of Yates Castle. In 19__ it was renamed the A. Clement Silverman Public Health Hospital. Until the 1960s it was the major facility in Syracuse for infectious diseases, treating both children and adults. It was dissolved in 197_. The building is now A.C. Silverman Hall and houses the College of Health Professions at SUNY Upstate Medical University.
Submitted 12 March 2006 by Pamela Priest
Updated 16 March 2006 by Pamela Priest