North Brother Island: The Last Unknown Place in New York City
An Illustrated Book Talk
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Doors open at 6:00/Talk starts at 7:00
The Paris Café, 119 South Street (at Peck Slip)
Join us for a visual exploration of the one place most New Yorkers will never get to explore on their own. Photographer Christopher Payne will present a book talk on his recently published North Brother Island: The Last Unknown Place in New York City
In 1902 famed social commentator Jacob Riis, writing about North Brother Island, which then housed the Riverside Hospital said, “Today, where once was a waste of sand, are broad and shaded lawns; winding, well-kept walks, trees, shrubs and flowers; handsome, substantial buildings and hospital pavilions or ward.” Later in his article observing the differences in smallpox hospitals in Europe
compared to this institution on North Brother Island, he noted that the “isolation secured in New York is absolute.” And though the island, 20 acres stranded in the middle of the East River, would see decades of activity both positive and tragic, this absolute isolation, even with vast transportation advancements citywide, would be the reason why the island was abandoned to nature by the middle of the 20th century.
Photographer Christopher Payne was granted permission by the city to photograph the island and its ruined structures, and the result is North Brother Island: The Last Unknown Place in New York City. The book tells the story of the island; its thriving years, its connection to a number of infamous events and people, and recent decades when vegetation has consumed the now crumbling buildings. The book includes photography by Mr. Payne, a history of the island by University of Pennsylvania professor and preservationist Randall Mason, and an essay by author Robert Sullivan.
Program is free and open to the public, but reservations are required.
To register, please call 212-614-9107 or email [email protected].
*Food and drinks will be available for purchase
The Paris Café, first opened in 1873, was frequented by such personages as Thomas Edison and Theodore Roosevelt, and was nearly closed after sustaining damage from Superstorm Sandy.
This program is being co-sponsored by Fordham University Press
