French Hospital of New York, at 330 West 30th Street (between Eighth and Ninth Avenues), was a hospital established in 1881 and closed in 1977. The last building it occupied was built in 1928 by the Société Française de Bienfaisance (French Benevolent Society). It was in the Chelsea neighborhood. At its opening, it was operated by the

Sisters of the Holy Cross The Sisters of the Holy Cross are one of three Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Religious congregation, congregations of nuns, religious sisters which trace their origins to the foundation of the Congregation of Holy Cross by Basil Moreau in Le Ma ...

. Its owner, the French Benevolent Society, merged with the Polyclinic Medical School and Health Center in 1969. The French and Polytechnic Medical School and Health Center closed May 13, 1977 for a lack of funding.

History

The building replaced the French Hospital facilities at 450 West

34th Street 34th Street most commonly refers to 34th Street (Manhattan) 34th Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs the width of Manhattan Island from the West Side Highway on the West Side to FDR Drive on t ...

(erected in 1904), 230 West

(acquired in 1888), and original French Hospital on West 14th Street (built in 1881) – then the city's French section. The hospital closed in the 1960s and in 1981 became residential rentals under Section 8. The New York City French Hospital was founded in 1880 by doctors Julio J. Henna, Chauveau, Deberceau, Muvial, and Ferrer. Dr. Henna, who was also a member of the medical faculty at

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States ...

, became medical director of the institution. In the novel ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

'',

Vito Corleone Vito Corleone (born Vito Andolini) is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and in the first two of Francis Ford Coppola's film trilogy. Vito is originally portrayed by Marlon Brando in the 1972 film ''The Godfath ...

's gunshot wounds are treated at the French Hospital.''

'',

Mario Puzo Mario Francis Puzo (; ; October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author and screenwriter. He wrote crime novels about the Italian-American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia, most notably ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather'' (1969), which h ...

, Putnam, 1969.

References

Bibliography

* French Hospital (New York, N.Y.) (1932). ''Formulary of the French Hospital'', 56 pp. * French Hospital of the French Benevolent Society of New York (1950). ''The French Hospital'', New York: The Society, 14 pp. * Nagel, Joseph Darwin (1962). ''The French Hospital, New York: 1889-1900'', New York, 8 pp. (reprinted from the ''Academy Bookman'', v. 15, no. 1, pp. 2–9, 1962)

External links

French Benevolent Society
records at

New-York Historical Society The New York Historical (known as the New-York Historical Society from 1804 to 2024) is an American history museum and library on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. It ...

{{Authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1928 Historic sites in New York City Catholic hospitals in the United States Defunct hospitals in Manhattan Hospitals established in 1881 Hospitals disestablished in 1977 1977 disestablishments in New York (state) 1881 establishments in New York City