The Octagon, built in 1834, is a historic
octagon
In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon.
A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...
al building and attached
apartment block complex located at 888 Main Street on
Roosevelt Island in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
It originally served as the main entrance to the New York City Mental Health Hospital (also known as the New York City Lunatic Asylum), which opened in 1841. Designed by
Alexander Jackson Davis, the five-story rotunda was made of blue-gray stone that was quarried on the island. The Octagon is the last remnant of the hospital, and after many years of decay and two fires, was close to ruin. After restoration, it has now been incorporated into the adjacent buildings to create a large apartment complex. Mistreatment of patients at the asylum was the center of the exposé by
Nellie Bly in her 1887 book ''
Ten Days in a Mad-House''.
History
The structure was built as part of the New York City Mental Health Hospital in 1841 and was incorporated into the
Metropolitan Hospital in 1894. The Octagon, as a Metropolitan Hospital building, closed in 1955, leaving the building abandoned. On March 16, 1972, despite its condition, it was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
The Octagon was the last remnant of the hospital, and after many years of decay and two fires, was close to ruin. In April 2006, after restoration, the renovated Octagon reopened as the lobby entrance to a pair of adjacent apartment buildings with 500 units in total.
Sustainability
The new apartment complex utilizes both solar panels and
fuel cell
A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...
installations. A 50 kW array of solar panels and a 400 kW fuel cell enable the building to generate more than 50% of its power. The fuel cell is a combined heat and power system that converts natural gas to electricity and heat via a combustion-free, electrochemical process. This system provides power and heat that meets the majority of the building's energy demand, and the efficiency it achieves is higher than the energy received from the power grid. Not only does the system provide more efficient energy usage, the heat from the process is also used for the building's space heating and domestic water requirements. Thus the Octagon is projected to reduce its
carbon emissions by 790 metric tons annually.
The Octagon received the largest initial award of New York State Green Building Tax Credits and was recognized in the first New York City Green Buildings Competition with the "Green Apple Award" for leadership in applying
sustainable design principles to residential development. In 2006, a newly constructed residential building was built on the site, modeled on the original structure. It received
LEED Silver status from the
U.S. Green Building Council in 2008.
See also
*
List of octagonal buildings and structures
*
List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan on Islands
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan on islands
References
External links
*
New York City Landmark description and historyForgotten NY on Roosevelt Island including the Octagon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Octagon
1830s architecture in the United States
1835 establishments in New York (state)
Alexander Jackson Davis buildings
Buildings and structures completed in 1835
Buildings and structures in Manhattan
Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan
New York State Register of Historic Places in New York County
Octagonal buildings in the United States
Psychiatric hospitals in New York (state)
Roosevelt Island