Eastern Dispensary – 75 Essex Street
The Eastern Dispensary at 75 Essex Street is a wonderfully intact example of Italianate architecture that was once a critical health care resource for the poor and needy within the Lower East Side.
The dispensary system, originating in the United States in the late 18th century, began as an alternative to alms-house infirmaries and then became imperative in the period of mass
immigration. Dispensaries were private/public efforts to serve individual humanitarian needs, help keep the general population disease-free, and train medical students. The construction of dispensary buildings was funded by private contributions, while daily operations received government support.
Landmark status has been granted to other historic dispensaries in New York City, including the Northern Dispensary in Greenwich Village, the hospital-affiliated Mount Sinai Dispensary, and the German Dispensary in today’s East Village. The Eastern Dispensary is deep within a neighborhood that was once the most important center for American immigration. lt should be landmarked so that it can remain there as a beacon of that past, even as it has great potential to meet today’s needs through adaptive re-use.