Philadelphia Lazaretto
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Lazaretto | |
|---|---|
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Wanamaker Ave. and 2nd St., Essington, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Area: | 10 acres |
| Built/Founded: | 1799 |
| Architect: | Unknown |
| Architectural style(s): | Georgian, Federal |
| Added to NRHP: | March 16, 1972 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 72001119[1] |
| Governing body: | Private |
The Philadelphia Lazaretto was the first quarantine hospital in the United States, built in 1799, in Tinicum Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.[2] The site was originally inhabited by the Lenni Lenape, and then the first Swedish settlers in America. The facility predates similar national landmarks such as Ellis Island and Angel Island and is considered both the oldest surviving quarantine hospital and the last surviving example of its type in the United States.[3]
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[edit] History
The first quarantine station for the city of Philadelphia was erected in 1743 where the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers meet,[4] but efforts to control disease epidemics in the City of Philadelphia did not begin in earnest until after the devastating Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793, which killed between 4,000 and 5,000 inhabitants -- about one-tenth of the city's population at the time -- and led the national government, which was then located in Philadelphia, to temporarily move out of the city. Following that epidemic, the state of Pennsylvania in 1798 created a Board of Health, controlled by the city, with the power to levy taxes for public health measures.[4] The following year, the city Board of Health erected the Lazaretto on a ten-acre site ten miles south of the city on the banks of the Delaware River in Tinicum Township.[3][2] The new quarantine station included a hospital, offices and residences.[3] All passenger and cargo vessels entering the port of Philadelphia were required to dock at the Lazaretto for inspection.[2] Passengers suspected of contagion were quarantined in the hospital, and all suspect cargo was stored in the public warehouse.[2] The Board of Health of the City of Philadelphia operated the facility and enforced the local quarantine regulations until the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania assumed authority for enforcing quarantine regulations in 1893.[2] After it was closed as a hospital, it was used as an aviation base.[5]
The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.[6] In the early 21st century, the site was threatened with development, but due to the work of local preservationists has been saved from leveling.[7]
[edit] Further reading
- McCarthy, Michael P. (1987). Typhoid and the Politics of Public Health in Nineteenth-century. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 354063293X.
- Morman, ET. "Guarding against alien impurities: the Philadelphia Lazaretto, 1854-1893". Pa Mag Hist Biogr 1984 (108(2)): 131-52. 11617876.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Lazaretto Quarantine Station. ushistory.org (2008-04-22). Retrieved on 2008-04-22.
- In the Name of Lazarus. ushistory.org (Spring 2006). Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
- Linderman, Richard (2008-03-07). The Lazaretto: An 18th-Century Landmark at Risk. American Institute of Architects. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- Listing and photographs at the Historic American Buildings Survey
- Listing at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- ^ a b c d e Contagious Disease Control, The Lazaretto. City of Philadelphia. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
- ^ a b c Lazaretto Quarantine Station, Tinicum Township, Delaware County, PA: History. ushistory.org. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
- ^ a b Lazaretto: Time Line. ushistory.org. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
- ^ Mason, Todd. "A preservation battle over immigrant site", Philadelphia Inquirer, 2006-06-21.
- ^ The Lazaretto. Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia (2008-03-07). Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ DiGiacomo, Marlene (November 9, 2006). Lazaretto property has been preserved. Delaware County Daily Times. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
