James Roosevelt House & Carriage House

In recent times, 58 Bleecker Street was home to the “Bleecker Street Bar,” a New York stalwart for 30 years. But the building has a lot more history than that! It dated to 1823 and was built for James Roosevelt (FDR’s great-grandfather.) James died in 1847, and his wife, Harriet, died nine years later.

The house was now up for grabs! In 1857, Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman in the United States to earn a medical degree, transformed it into “The New York Infirmary for Women and Children.” It was the first hospital for women, staffed by women, and run by women, in the United States.

The hospital opened on May 12th, 1857 – a significant date. It was legendary nurse Florence Nightingale’s 37th birthday, and she was Blackwell’s good friend. The hospital was opened 7 days a week and provided free medical care for women and children.

The original staff was Blackwell, her sister Emily and Dr. Marie Zakrewska. The hospital was also a teaching hospital – it helped prepare other women studying for their medical degrees.

In 1868, the infirmary outgrew the building. Therefore, Blackwell established the “Women’s Medical College of the New York Infirmary” at 126 Second Avenue, between 7th and St. Marks. It was the first women’s medical school and hospital in the country. It operated for 31 years and educated more than 350 women physicians.

After that move, 58 Bleecker was ready for its next act – The Secret Service! Yup, in 1874, it became the home of the New York Branch of the Secret Service (initially established in 1865 to combat counterfeiting!)

By the 1890s, it was part of the area’s “Garment District,” and in the 1960s, it became an art gallery. The gallery closed in 1987, and the Bleecker Street bar opened in 1990.