3. Brooklyn Naval Hospital
The Brooklyn Naval Hospital, one of the oldest naval hospitals in the United States, operated from 1838 to 1948 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Two of the hospital’s structures, including the Surgeon’s Residence, are designated New York City Landmarks.
In 1824, the Secretary of the Navy purchased a tract for the hospital since the first hospital at the Brooklyn Naval Yard was described as inadequate. In the 1850s, the hospital became the main hospital of the US Navy’s hospital system, treating sailors and dock workers with a capacity of 150 patients.
According to a Brooklyn Daily Eagle article, the Brooklyn Naval Hospital treated nearly a quarter of all Union casualties during the Civil War. By the early 1900s, the hospital was considered one of the best civilian hospitals in the United States thanks to its expansion. The hospital grew to accommodate patients with contagious diseases by 1913, and by World War I, the hospital could accommodate 3,000 patients at a time.
Following World War II, the Navy announced that it would be closing the Brooklyn Naval Hospital in 1948. Many of the hospital’s patients were transferred to St. Albans Naval Hospital in Queens, and the hospital was then converted into the US Naval Receiving Annex, Brooklyn.