| Strecker Memorial Laboratory | |
| Location: | Roosevelt Island, New York, New York |
| Coordinates: | 40.7522°N -73.9581°W |
| Built: | 1892 |
| Architect: | Withers & Dickson |
| Added: | March 16, 1972 |
| Area: | less than one acre |
| Refnum: | 72000886 |
| Designated Other2 Name: | New York City Landmark |
| Designated Other2 Date: | March 23, 1976 |
| Designated Other2 Abbr: | NYCL |
| Designated Other2 Number: | 0909 |
| Designated Other2 Link: | New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |
| Designated Other2 Color: |
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| Designated Other1: | New York State Register of Historic Places |
| Designated Other1 Num Position: | bottom |
| Designated Other1 Number: | 06101.000497 |
| Designated Other1 Abbr: | NYSRHP |
| Designated Other1 Date: | June 23, 1980 |
Strecker Memorial Laboratory is a historic building at Southpoint Park on Roosevelt Island in New York City. Built in 1892 to serve as a laboratory for City Hospital, it was "the first institution in the nation for pathological and bacteriological research". The project was funded by the Strecker family.[1] The building was designed by architects Frederick Clarke Withers and Walter Dickson in the Romanesque Revival style with large arched windows to provide plenty of natural lighting and ventilation. On the first floor were an autopsy room and an office, while the floor above housed laboratories where specimens were examined. The cellar was used as a mortuary and for storage. Administrative support was provided by the nearby City Hospital. An additional storey was later built, providing room for the examination of histological samples, a scientific library and a pathology museum.[2] [1] [3]
In 1907, the Russell Sage Institute of Pathology took over the running of the lab.[1] In time, this became associated with the Rockefeller University, and work continued at the laboratory until it closed in the 1950s, after which it fell into disrepair.[1]
In 1972, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places,[4] and in 1976 it was designated a New York City landmark.[5]
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority purchased the building in the late 1990s to house a power conversion substation[6] for the subway trains that run through the 53rd Street Tunnel underneath Roosevelt Island. The MTA restored the building's exterior, and the substation has been active since 2000.[3]