Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons - P and S Yearbook (New York, NY)

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In 1884, William H. Vanderbilt decided to give substantial aid to the effort to create in New York one of the first medical schools in the world. In October 1884, he gave the College the deed to the land enclosed between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, and Fifty Ninth and Sixty Streets, with a check for three hundred thousand dollars for building expensesg In all, a gift of half ofa million dollars. Figures 4 topposite pagej, 5 tleftj, and 6 tbelowj. The College of Physicians and Surgeons at Fifty Ninth Street. 27

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Dr. David Hosack, Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine, purchased from the city a twenty acre enclosure of land which was located some three miles north of the city, on which he planted a great botanical garden . . . In 1816, after the garden fell into a state of disrepair, the land fpresently, known as Rockefeller Centerj was turned over, by an act of the legislature, to Columbia College. .A A r' 1' . 4 . ' ' . . '- f 4-45 .1..-, 4- .4 - t.a.r.u.. an. Lv-. ...-amd .1 1 wg U31 ' A fe -4 me . g.,--T-- . s--v-1-:r-:azr-----1-E---1-gg-ef --,gL 1 . ...... . .....,. .. ..,... ,.... ,.,. .. . . .... ,. F . iv .. A -N ,... .. ' ---77. Q. , Y..,...',..L ' 4,5 -. . Y--1.'? !r ,4. 4 - 4- 7 Y.-1 L7 ...f Y ,Liam , . ,. ,-,-- -Aan . .- aa addition, it was charged that the raising oflecture fees and the charging of additional fees by the faculty, made the total educational expense prohibitive. Moreover,just as serious was the accusation that the professional standards ofthe College were lowered, resulting in the hastened graduation oflarge numbers of unprepared physicians. In response, these charges were termed groundless. and vigorously denied by the College faculty which attributed them to professionaljealousy. They felt that the teachers were, ultimately, the bestjudges ofthe qualifications oftheir students, and that the great increase in attendance at the college was ample proofthat their fees were reasonable and not burdensome. t A tuition fee of fifteen dollars is charged for the full course of lectures, for one year, with one professor. An additional charge of five dollars is allowed to the professors of Chemistry and Anatomy for their assistants, and extra necessary expenses about their lectures J. To rectify the situation, the Regents decided that aside from the president and vice-president ofthe College, future vacancies on the Board ofTrustees will only be filled by private practioners. They also fixed the tuition charges to a fixed rate, and set a minimal duration of medical studies at the College. However, no harmony between the two rival camps was reached with these changes, and their battles were moved into the College. In 1826, a new Regents Committee concluded these differences were based on professional rivalries , and suggested that the composition ofthe Board of Trustees be changed. It was, therefore, decided that all the vacancies on the Board would be filled by persons who are not ofthe medical profession. The College faculty agreed and further, demanded that the entire Board of Trustees be dismissed, and be replaced by nonmedical men. In April 1826, when it failed to convince the legislature to replace the entire Board of Trustees, the faculty and officers ofthe College of Physicians and Surgeons resigned their positions, and the Regents promptly appointed a new faculty to take their places. To continue teaching, the former faculty fDrs. Hosack, Mott, Macneven. Mitchell and Francisi, organized at their own expense, a rival medical school in New York, the short-lived Rutgers Medical College, which lasted only four years. In 1837, the College moved to No. 67 Crosby Street into facilities unsurpassed by any similar establishment Z6 'W -1 --nf. - .-:gf r ' . ,Llti.JD- . ':, . M 11 ,- ff 1: I-Iii: - - '1'-fu ef. : ' - if ff-'mr' ' ,1... -'- 'fl It ,. -. Lt i I . -- I- - ity. 'L ' r ' '- v- is .. 'T' ff '. . l 'lf' 291 P- 'l I-.Y Yli xf 3 N, Ks, 2' 0 1 -12.1 -A uf.. W 1 ' 1 g rt., gc. - Q- 7' 9' ' f 3 ' 1' vu ' '- . - 14- WEE . .A 5. . . ' ' ' -' f' 'I . - if - Q' : .G mi 3 ' l Q .- L a I 4 L 1 lx '11 .F ,4. . - ' .A ,cL4'.,,fg,,jg- J g P Y .. . TT'fI'1',l, ' ,'... ,. . - 1, ' ,,. Q- 1 .- j J!! L I. ' ' .,,. ' -. . 'l - ,,- . -.. . Li ' . f 5 . Y. : W N. ,Lf x 1 1 ,I Q.: : ,ag .' f , '- , . I, 1, 7: . f 3 Z.. 5.113117 '.cp - i -ul.. .L a 1 .31 y..:LgF : -y .,,:'.:q...,.-'wit ' . -- -Y,:-1 -'i - -' if ss, H.. F?'9i'li-5611912 aries '-iT rf'jZf if ' .2-ii1.- 11:31. -' agen-21 . - ' -- -F ..LZ,33, a rf? 11. -r 1 X sir i.... rn-r r .1-.r in the Union . This move began a long period of quiet and productive growth. In 1841, Dr. Willard Parker. Professor of Surgery, established the College Clinic. where students would observe diagnosis and treatment in an ambulatory care setting. From a single clinic of minor surgery held once a week, the clinic grew by 1876 to include ten different clinics fincluding, Pediatrics, Gynecology, Dermatology, Venereal Diseases, In 1826, after failing to convince the legislature to replace the entire board of trustees with nonmedical men, the faculty and officers of the College of Physicians and Surgeons resigned their positions, and the Regents promptly appointed a new faculty to take their place. Medicine, Neurology, and othersi. Indeed, the prominence ofthe College Clinics became so great. that in 1869, it prompted the establishment ofa new grade of teachers, lasting to the present. named Clinical Professors: each of whom was in charge of his special clinic. In the year 1851, Bellevue Hospital joined The New York Hospital as a teaching institution. Thus. medical instruction at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, then more than ever before, covered the entire spectrum of disease from ambulatory care to the more serious and advanced conditions seen in the hospitals. Finally, a significant advancement in medical education came in 1854 with the passage by the state legislature of the Anatomical Bill , which secured for medical schools all the unclaimed bodies from the state penal and charitable institutions. Prior to 1854, medical schools were only able to lawfully obtain for dissection the unclaimed bodies of convicts who died in the penitentiaries of Sing Sing and Auburn. Consequently. there was considerable dealing in bodies dug up from the

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old Potter's field cemetary. and such anatomical specimens could only be secured by uncertain, illegal and often dangerous nocturnal expeditions. Understandably. in 1819. when the College moved to Barclay Street. for the safety and convenience of the College, an additional building, to answer the purpose ofa stable and an entrance, were built in the rear. There is no doubt that this rear entrance and stable were built for the safety and convenience of resurrectionist expeditions in the interest of the Anatomy department. In 1856, the College moved into a four story brick building on 23rd street and 4th Avenue, where it remained for thirty-one years fFig. 31. This period encompassed three important milestones in the history of Figures 7 lrightl, 8 lbelow, lefty, and 9 lbelow, rightl ? '-il , gn. 1. lr nl Q. ' affix T AT- , f. , '-25 1,1551 ' 1 I VP i 1 in In K -sis Ji- . '. ' .. 'g .,A' ,x fig' by L S e fl Q i' .' ', 6. ,pill c., W' Q- F., n,X, ,fo .4 l 1-N-'ww ,,. l gy 1 '1 - fi if PL ' bw n 1 . Q1 5 .' ' N ' Aug. l.,',C- fgg. fel., . 7 1.-1 i: s ' fa 'tl N F ' tri' 1 i . 1 I it.-:lZb 1:'WQ, ,. 4 H V' m if fffjpzpiinlf' 3 -4 ' ? : , gtrk- r! g, .- 1' 'A rs .' - --. - -- . 1.!.x 'gl Yi P25-? , 1 -.l . M il 3. il ig' ' 5 'J . lg . X .W l 1 1 . I the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Two ofthese were discussed earlier: namely the 1860 agreement under which the College became independent ofthe Regents, and became the Medical Department of Columbia College. and the rapid rise in the importance and prominence ofthe College Clinics begun. in 1841, by Dr. Parker, with the establishment ofthe new teaching grade ofClinical Professors. Lastly, under the active leadership of President Edward Delafield. the Alumni Association ofthe College of Physicians and Surgeons was established in 1859 for promoting good feeling and harmony among the graduates ofthe College and to exercise, in a variety of ways. a beneficial influence. In 1884, William H. Vanderbilt decided. with the influence of his friend and physician. James W. McLane. Professor of Obstetrics. to give substantial aid to the effort to create in New York one ofthe first medical schools in the world . He chose to support the College of 28 -I Physicians and Surgeons because it was the oldest medical school in the state, and of equal rank with any in the world. In October 1884, he gave the College the deed to the land enclosed between 9th and 10th Avenues. and 59th and 60th Streets, with a check for three-hundred thousand dollars for building expenses: In all. a gift of half ofa million dollars. However, W. Vanderbilt never lived to see his project completed: he died in December 1885 ofa massive stroke. The College building cornerstone was laid in April 1886, and the building was inaugurated in September 1887 tFigs. 4 and 55. The building consisted of three connected structures: namely, a main building, . . . containing offices, museums, study and recitation rooms. professors' rooms. and the department ofpractical Anatomy lFig. 6l1 a middle building occupying the central part ofthe grounds. in which are the main stairway hall. the lecture hall, the amphitheatre. and the rear stairway: and a north building or laboratory wing. . . . containing thejanitor's quarters, the chemical laboratories, and the laboratories