The next private purchase of Randall\u2019s Island came in 1784, when it was purchased by Jonathan Randel, whom it is still named after today despite the slight spelling difference, a mistake by the city.[6]<\/a> Randall\u2019s Island remained in the Randel family until 1835, when it was purchased by the City of New York for 60,000 dollars.[7]<\/a> The city purchased Wards Island soon after, in 1851, and together they served a number of public functions.[8]<\/a> This purchase marked the end of private ownership of Randall\u2019s Island, which quickly began being used for a wide variety of public functions, such as the relocation of Manhattan potter\u2019s fields and the construction of various institutions. Randall\u2019s Island was made home of an orphanage, children\u2019s hospital, and a reform school called The House of Refuge. The House of Refuge was intended to incarcerate teenage criminals, mainly Irish, where they spent part of their day in religious and school-curriculum based classes, and the other part of their day performing lucrative labor for the state. The conditions were not ideal, as the boys were forced to perform this labor for outside contractors, and those who misbehaved were punished. It wasn\u2019t until 1887, when the labor from residents no longer became lucrative, that conditions somewhat improved.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Wards Island was mainly used as a relocation site for Manhattan potters fields, which were becoming overwhelmed due to the rapidly rising population and length of settlement. Starting in 1840, nearly 100,000 bodies were moved from the Madison Square Park and Bryant Park potter\u2019s fields, finding a new location in the southern tip of Wards Island.[10]<\/a> In addition to assisting in the relocation of the potters fields, Wards Island was also home to the State Emigrant Refuge, a hospital for \u201csick and destitute immigrants\u201d, one of the largest hospital complexes in the world during the 1850s.[11]<\/a> These rededication of the use of Randall\u2019s and Wards Islands was not unique, and in fact, can be seen as a small example of greater New York City trends. The city had become one with a rapidly growing population and an even quicker growing issue of separated wealth. The wealthy were growing richer, and the poor poorer, causing the city to begin trying to separate the suffering from the successful. By relocating the potters fields and the treatment facilities for the City\u2019s less fortunate citizens to a separate island, the city was physically putting distance between itself and some of its major issues, a trend that would often continue in the future.<\/p>\n Through the latter half of the 19th<\/sup> century, Randall\u2019s Island continued to grow in its public services. In addition to the aforementioned House of Refuge, the island also became home to the Idiot Asylum, a homeopathic hospital, the Inebriate Asylum, and the City Insane Asylum, further solidifying the trend of segregation of its \u201cundesirable\u201d residents.[12]<\/a> The island had grown from a small farming island, to a private residence, to an important wartime location, to an area of suffering under the name of \u201cpublic service\u201d. The purchase of both Randall\u2019s and Wards Islands allowed the city to have a water-based separation between its main population and the less savory side of urban life, such as proper burial grounds and dealing with those less fortunate. The city now had the ability to physically separate itself from many issues, highlighting a dark time both in the history of Randall\u2019s Island and the City of New York as a whole.<\/p>\n The turn of the 20th<\/sup> century marked a time of great transformation for Randall\u2019s and Wards Islands. From this point forward, the islands would cease being a place for the city to dispose of issues, but rather, a place for the city to grow. The city began to realize the value of the location of the islands, and started to work on making them more connected both to each other and the rest of the city. Construction began in September 1916, on the Hell Gate Bridge and railroad trestle. This connected both islands, as well as Queens and the South Bronx.[13]<\/a> Soon after that, in 1929, the city began construction on the 17-mile Triborough Bridge. The islands began to be significantly more connected to the rest of the city, beginning their transition into their greater roles to serve not just the city\u2019s problems, but also its needs and wants.<\/p>\n The year 1930 marked one of the greatest changes in the history of Randall\u2019s and Wards Islands since their purchase by the city, as this was the year the Metropolitan Conference on Parks recommended the islands have all of their institutions removed. With their removal, the islands were left, instead, with a more recreational focus.[14]<\/a> The city acted on the recommendation in 1933, officially transferring ownership of the islands to the Department of Parks and Recreation, which immediately began working to transform Randall\u2019s Island to parkland. In 1935, the Department evacuated the children\u2019s hospital and demolished the House of Refuge, putting an end to the island\u2019s time housing this line of work. From this point forward, recreation and transportation become the main purpose of the islands.[15]<\/a> Over the following years, the islands begin to see the construction of numerous fields and tennis courts, as well as the construction of Triborough Stadium. In 1936, the Triborough Bridge and Triborough stadium opened, hosting the Olympic track and field trials. Interestingly, it was at this event that Jesse Owens qualified for the 1936 Berlin Olympics.[16]<\/a><\/p>\n Following the theme of connectivity, the Randall\u2019s Island did continue to expand in both its connections and service to the rest of the city. In 1937, a sewage treatment plant opened on Wards Island, servicing the city\u2019s waste in a safer manner more removed from the main boroughs. Additionally, in 1951, the Wards Island Pedestrian Bridge opened, providing Manhattan residents with significantly easier access to the parks on both islands.[17]<\/a> It was also around this time that the area in between the two islands was turned into a landfill, finally physically connecting them for the future under the name of Randall\u2019s Island.<\/p>\n As time passed, the Randall\u2019s Island continued to expand in the realm of recreation, hosting music festivals and concerts for the masses. Spanning from the 1970s to present day, the biggest names in music and entertainment held concerts and events on the island, drawing New Yorkers to the parks for various forms of entertainment. In the most recent updates to the island, Downing Stadium, the original sporting stadium, was demolished in 2003 to create the new Icahn Stadium, and in the same year, a ferry dock was constructed on the Harlem River Waterfront.[18]<\/a> This development made the island even more accessible, as now there were vehicular and pedestrian bridges and water access, connecting those from much further away through New York\u2019s complex ferry system.<\/p>\n Today, New York\u2019s Randall\u2019s Island is a popular travel destination, described by the city as, \u201cAn oasis in the middle of New York City, Randall\u2019s Island Park comprises most of an island in the East River, between East Harlem, the South Bronx and Astoria, Queens.\u201d[19]<\/a> The island boasts an impressive and sprawling recreational complex, including Icahn Stadium, a 20-court tennis center, more than 60 playing fields, miles of pedestrian walkways and bike paths, and over 9 acres of restored wetlands.[20]<\/a> In 2010, the Randall\u2019s Island Community Access Task Force published the Randall\u2019s Island Park Access Guide, an in depth look into the operations and offerings of the park, including maps and historical background.[21]<\/a> This group works to maintain a visitor-friendly interface, allowing more people than ever to visit one of New York\u2019s greatest treasures. Whether it be concert going, sporting, or just enjoying the fresh air with friends and family, Randall\u2019s Island has an accommodation for every New Yorker and every visitor to experience a true piece of local history.<\/p>\n The development of Randalls Island, its changing use over time, its often dark past, and its eventual use for entertainment are all not necessarily unique. While certainly the island has its own story and timeline, many of the trends and struggles faced within were small examples of New York City and American Culture as a whole. Historically, New York City has often been seen as a city of vice, suffering with issues of drinking, prostitution, and rampant poverty and wealth disparity. While the city advanced and modernized, often times the \u201caverage\u201d citizen most felt the price of progress, struggling to survive without much help. Painter George Bellows, a New York City painter from the mid-nineteenth century, often depicted these struggles in his works. Pieces such as \u201cCliff Dwellers\u201d, \u201cNew York\u201d, and \u201cMen of the Docks\u201d captured the struggles of New York City\u2019s average citizens, especially those of the lower class. Author Edward Wolner perfectly captures the intended message of Bellows\u2019 work, saying, \u201cBellows’s New York captures the city’s clashing energies, its centripetal and centrifugal tensions, and its unexampled range of conflicts before such compelling vitality was taken for granted or began to thin out in the globalizing forces that the metropolis itself first concentrated and unleashed.\u201d[22]<\/a> The city was, indeed, a city of conflicting people and forces, and this can be seen throughout the history of Randalls Island.<\/p>\n What is most interesting, though, is how the most recent history of the Island has truly reflected a greater change in the city of New York. The city has begun to work to change its racial and class struggles, making the city somewhere that anyone can make their own future. The Island, with its development into a space for all residents to enjoy and utilize for exercise, entertainment, and even travel, is an example of how the city is making changes for all of its citizens, not just those who can afford to cash out for them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> History.com Staff, “New Amsterdam Becomes New York,” History.com, last modified September 8, 2010, http:\/\/www.history.com\/this-day-in-history\/new-amsterdam-becomes-new-york.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Randall’s Island Park Alliance, Historical Timeline,\u00a0Randall’s Island Park Alliance<\/em>, last modified 2016, accessed September 20, 2017, https:\/\/randallsisland.org\/timeline\/.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Bess Lovejoy, Islands of the Undesirables: Randall\u2019s Island and Wards Island,\u00a0Atlas Obscura<\/em>, last modified June 2, 2015, accessed October 4, 2017, http:\/\/www.atlasobscura.com\/articles\/islands-of-the-undesirables-randall-s-island-and-wards-island.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Randall’s Island Park Alliance, Historical Timeline,\u00a0Randall’s Island Park Alliance<\/em>.<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> Lovejoy, Islands of the Undesirables: Randall\u2019s Island and Wards Island,\u00a0Atlas Obscura<\/em>.<\/p>\n [9]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n [10]<\/a> Lovejoy, Islands of the Undesirables: Randall\u2019s Island and Wards Island,\u00a0Atlas Obscura<\/em>.<\/p>\n [11]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n [12]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n [13]<\/a> Randall’s Island Park Alliance, Historical Timeline,\u00a0Randall’s Island Park Alliance<\/em>.<\/p>\n [14]<\/a> Lovejoy, Islands of the Undesirables: Randall\u2019s Island and Wards Island,\u00a0Atlas Obscura<\/em>.<\/p>\n [15]<\/a> Randall’s Island Park Alliance, Historical Timeline,\u00a0Randall’s Island Park Alliance<\/em>.<\/p>\n [16]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n [17]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n [18]<\/a> New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, Randall’s Island Park,\u00a0NYC Parks<\/em>, accessed October 1, 2017, https:\/\/www.nycgovparks.org\/parks\/randalls-island.<\/p>\n [19]<\/a> \u00a0New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, Randall’s Island Park,\u00a0NYC Parks<\/em>, accessed October 1, 2017, https:\/\/www.nycgovparks.org\/parks\/randalls-island.<\/p>\n [20]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/nyc-history\/files\/2017\/11\/premerge-218x210.jpg\")
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