Doctors Hospital (Manhattan)

Doctors Hospital was a hospital located at 170 East End Avenue, between 87th and 88th Streets opposite Gracie Mansion in the Yorkville neighborhood of the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. It served as the primary maternity hospital for uptown Manhattan births (Manhattan General served as such for Lower Manhattan). It was also known as a "fashionable treatment center for the well-to-do."[1]

History

The 14 floor hospital was founded in 1929 as Doctors Hospital. Patients included Huguette Clark, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Mueller, Jacqueline Susann, James Thurber, Clare Boothe Luce, Oveta Culp Hobby, Charna Eisenberg and Eugene O'Neill.[1]

Additional names treated or those that died at Doctors Hospital were Theodore Hardeen, also known as Hardeen, Houdini's brother and a magician in his own right, who died at the age of 69 after a routine surgery in 1945.[2] Ann Woodward, wife of 'Billy' William Woodward, Jr., was promptly rushed to Doctors Hospital in 1955 after mistakenly shooting her husband. Billy was part of the 2nd and 3rd generation of the top 400 wealthiest of families in America. The infamous shooting, occurring in October, is commonly known as, "The Shooting of the Century". Ann Woodward's short, several day stay started nearly immediately that night after the shooting, stopping legal authorities from questioning her about the fateful night. By residing in a private room at Doctor's Hospital for treatment for her nervous upset, she successfully stopped legal authorities from questioning her about the shooting so that the families' lawyers could work with the police to find a more tasteful way of handling the situation involving the wealthy murderer and the Woodward name's delicate reputation.[3]

It was acquired by Beth Israel Medical Center in 1987.

In 2001, the medical facility had about 210 beds and more than 800 employees. The hospital was closed in August 2004 and sold along with two nearby apartment buildings for $166.5 million. The building was razed in 2005 and replaced with a new 19 story, 110 unit residential condominium building.[4][5]

References
  1. Bill Dedman, Paul Clark Newell, Jr., Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Loss of one of the World's Greatest Fortunes, London: Atlantic Books, 2013, p. 228
  2. "Hardeen Dead, 69. Houdini's Brother. Illusionist, Escape Artist, a Founder of Magician's Guild. Gave Last Show May 29.". New York Times. June 13, 1945. "Theodore Hardeen, a brother of the late Harry Houdini, illusionist and a prominent magician in his own right, died yesterday in the Doctors Hospital. His age was 69."
  3. Susan Braudy, "This Crazy Thing Called Love: The Golden World and Fatal Marriage of Ann and Billy Woodward", New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992
  4. 170 East End Avenue, The City Review, retrieved 24 August 2010
  5. Siwolop, Sana (30 March 2005), "COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE: REGIONAL MARKET -- Manhattan; For Nonprofits, Owning Is Becoming the Wave of the Past", The New York Times, New York


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