River Crest Sanitarium was a New York State licensed mental hospital located in

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to four other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Queens, Long Island C ...

. River Crest was founded in 1896 by

John J. Kindred John Joseph Kindred (July 15, 1864 – October 23, 1937) was an American physician and politician. Kindred served five terms as United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from New York (state), New York from 1911 to 1913, and f ...

(1864-1937), a Virginia native who moved to Queens and was elected to the House of Representatives, serving from 1911 to 1913 and 1921 to 1929.

History

The institution went out of business in 1961. "A high school now occupies the rear of the site," and a local restaurant is "named after the Sanitarium." File:River Crest Brochure Postcard Courtesy Greater Astoria Historical Society.jpg, Brochure Postcard File:River Crest (rear image).jpg, rear image File:River Crest postcard image.jpg, postcard image File:River Crest (postcard image -2 ).jpg, postcard image File:River Crest (marketing brochure).jpg, marketing brochure

Notable patients

Wilhelm Steinitz William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was a Bohemian-Austrian, and later American, chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and c ...

– World Chess Champion, 1900 * Thomas J. Callan –

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

soldier, 1900 *

Caitlin Thomas Caitlin Thomas (née Macnamara; 8 December 1913 – 31 July 1994) was an author and the wife of the poet and writer Dylan Thomas. Their marriage was a stormy affair, fueled by alcohol and infidelity, though the couple remained together until Dyl ...

– wife of poet

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...

, after having come to see her dying husband at St Vincent's Hospital, in November 1953

References

{{authority control Astoria, Queens Defunct hospitals in Queens Demolished buildings and structures in New York (state)