Here’s an 1884 view of Child’s Hospital, from Hawk Street, where it sat at the corner of Elk. (Now, of course, it’s a scenic parking lot.) At that time, Child’s, which opened March 26, 1875, was in the charge of the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus, an Episcopal order associated with the Cathedral of All Saints. “The hospital had its beginning in a very small way, nine years ago, and has grown from the two crippled children with which it started, and from the small and uncomfortable house, rented from month to month, to its present proportions. It occupies two excellent buildings, built for the purpose, one of which has been enlarged to double its original size. The Sisters have charge also of a Child’s Convalescent Home in Saratoga, and of a Child’s Nursery for Babies under a year old, and of sick babies, with a free dispensary for children.” The hospital was supported by The Corning Foundation for Christian Work in the Diocese of Albany, which ensured that “needy children between the ages of one and fifteen years suffering from acute or chronic, but not contagious, diseases are treated free if necessary.”
A postcard view of this magnificent structure is here. I’m not at all sure when this building was lost, though the new Child’s Hospital was built on Hackett Boulevard in 1961.
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