Places near me Random place
All the United States Pennsylvania Essington Lazaretto Quarantine Station
AO Edited

Lazaretto Quarantine Station

North America's oldest quarantine facility was built in response to Philadelphia's 1793 yellow fever outbreak.

Essington, Pennsylvania

Added By
David Barham
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station   Motorcat (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Quarantine Station as of 2023.   blimpcaptain (Atlas Obscura User)
The 1973 Yellow Fever outbreak in Philly killed 10% of the population and grinded the economy to a halt. Folks fled town or stayed locked in their homes. The city was in complete panic   michaelnhartman (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto (named after the diseased Lazarus from the Bible) were already very popular in port cities around the world prior to 1793, but there was nothing in Philly   michaelnhartman (Atlas Obscura User)
Working under the assumption that incoming people and good from the West Indies were to blame for the infection, and following subsequent summers with the same issue, this building was built in 1799, finally opening in 1801. All goods and people from overseas had to quarantine here for weeks/months before entering Philly   michaelnhartman (Atlas Obscura User)
The lockdown was tight, and written governmental approval was needed to simply talk to someone through this fence, which surrounded the entire facility. No person could go in or out on a daily basis, and people were observed for weeks to see if they were sick or not. For overflow, Red Cross style tents were even pitched in the lawn when needed   michaelnhartman (Atlas Obscura User)
The site itself was chosen for it's relative isolation between Philly and Chester, for fear that a center in the city would still spread disease via trash and rodents   michaelnhartman (Atlas Obscura User)
It operated successfully for 94 years until no longer needed. Nicknamed Philadelphia's Eilis Island   michaelnhartman (Atlas Obscura User)
The food was then prepared in this separate kitchen area. Inside the center was a hospital wing, where a team of mostly nurses worked on those hit by yellow fever and typhoid. They claim to have healthy discharged 90% of those infected. The "medicine" for most of them was simply providing clean bedding, clothes, water and food while the patients bodies did the work to naturally fight off the disease   michaelnhartman (Atlas Obscura User)
Ideally, the healthy people would return to their boat, where they would sleep and eat as provided for by the boat itself, and then just the sick people would need to be taken care of by the center. More often than not though, food supply was insufficient on the boats and the center had to feed the sick and healthy. This barn held numerous cows, horses, etc. that went towards farming and food production   michaelnhartman (Atlas Obscura User)
After it stopped being a hospital it was bought as an early kind of rec center, and eventually turned into a seaplane base in the very early days of aviation. It was even used for seaplane military training shortly during WW1 and remained a seaplane base until 2000. This is the last remaining hanagar   michaelnhartman (Atlas Obscura User)
This is the lawn where tents would need to be pitched for overflow of the hospital. Some spent months in the hot summer sun on this lawn   michaelnhartman (Atlas Obscura User)
This winch, along with light railroad tracks, which have since been removed, were how they moved the seaplanes up into the hangers from the Delaware River and vice versa   michaelnhartman (Atlas Obscura User)
There is a museum inside the government center, which is occasionally open. There are 4 sections, each manned by a separate group of volunteers   michaelnhartman (Atlas Obscura User)
There's a Swedish exhibit, an Italian one, and one about the building and another about the county history,.   michaelnhartman (Atlas Obscura User)
The Lazarretto is open again, this time as the Tinicum Township headquarters.   Tractorpie (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto Main Building portico   dbarnes (Atlas Obscura User)
Lazaretto historic site seen from the river   dbarnes (Atlas Obscura User)
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Considered by many to be the Ellis Island of Philadelphia, the Lazaretto Quarantine Station once inspected every person and piece of cargo coming in from the Delaware River. Although the complex was once in danger of collapse after decades of vacancy and neglect, several buildings have been renovated to serve as offices for the local government. 

The Lazaretto complex was originally constructed in 1799 to deal with the devastating yellow fever epidemic that took hold in 1793, killing thousands in Philadelphia alone and forcing the national government from the city. The disease center featured a large main building with a number of smaller support structures, and—as with many disease hospitals—its own burial ground. After opening in 1801, the center became the checkpoint through which anyone (and anything, as goods were inspected for signs of disease, just as thoroughly) coming to Philadelphia had to pass before entering the city. 

The facility operated until 1895, when its role as a disease hospital ceased. In the ensuing years, the site became a country club and a seaplane airbase, until it was finally abandoned. As age and neglect took their toll on the site, township officials lobbied for its upkeep and protection. In 2019, they got their wish: The main building was restored for use as local government offices. The site is open to visitors, and a self-guided (outdoor) audio tour is available at www.lazaretto.site.

Related Tags

Abandoned Hospitals Quarantine Medicine Disease

Know Before You Go

The Lazaretto site is between the fire station parking lot and the river.

Community Contributors

Added By

Motorcat

Edited By

chanisamans, lpattboard, dbarnes, Tractorpie...

Published

October 21, 2014

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources

Nearby Places

Explore the Destination Guide

Related Places

  • A tuberculosis hut converted into a visitor center at Rock Ledge Ranch

    Colorado Springs, Colorado

    Tuberculosis Huts

    Small teepee-like houses built for TB patients have become sheds, studios, and bus stops around Colorado Springs.

  •

    Eyemouth, Scotland

    Cholera Monument

    A watchhouse constructed from tombstones, to make way for a burial pit, for the victims succumbing to a deadly disease.

  •

    Saranac Lake, New York

    Saranac Laboratory Museum

    A former infectious disease laboratory chronicles how tuberculosis shaped a village nestled in the Adirondacks.

  • Banting House.

    London, Ontario

    Banting House

    The "birthplace of insulin," where Sir Frederick Banting realized the hormone could save the lives of Type 1 diabetics.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

See Fewer Ads

Become an Atlas Obscura member and experience far fewer ads

Become a Member