Bellevue, on New York City’s East Side, is the oldest general hospital in North America.
Plans for the hospital date back to 1736, although at that time the building was meant to be only a “Publick Workhouse and House of Correction” near City Hall (located on the site of present-day City Hall Park).
In 1816, a larger space was needed and construction began at Belle Vue Farm, on the hospital’s present site.