Edgewood State Hospital

Edgewood State Hospital
Geography
Location	Deer Park, New York, US
Organisation
Type	Tubercular/psychiatric hospital
Services
Emergency department	Yes
Beds	700-900
History
Opened	1940s
Closed	1971
Demolished	1980s

Edgewood State Hospital was a tubercular/psychiatric hospital complex located in Deer Park, New York, on Long Island. It was one of four state mental asylums built on Long Island, with the others being Kings Park State Hospital, Central Islip State Hospital, and Pilgrim State Hospital. Edgewood was the last of the four to be built.

History

The hospital was constructed in the early 1940s, likely funded by the Works Progress Administration. It consisted of ten buildings, including a prominent 13-story main building, making it the smallest of the four asylums. However, plans for a larger complex were never realized. During World War II, the hospital was taken over by the War Department and used as a psychiatric facility for soldiers suffering from battle trauma. The entire campus, along with three buildings from nearby Pilgrim State Hospital, was utilized as "Mason General Hospital" by the department.

After the war, the hospital was returned to New York State and operated as the tubercular division of Pilgrim for a few years. In 1946, film director John Huston was assigned to create a documentary film called Let There Be Light, which showcased recovering soldiers at the hospital for propaganda purposes.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, advancements in medicine led to changes in the treatment of tuberculosis and psychiatric conditions. As a result, Edgewood State Hospital closed its doors in 1971. The hospital was eventually demolished in the 1980s.