Coney Island Hospital, ca. 1915.

The origins of the Coney Island Hospital began in 1875 when a first aid station was opened on the beach at West 3rd Street on Coney Island. The first real structure was a rental building on Sea Breeze Avenue, which had 20 beds— though the more serious cases were sent to Kings Country Hospital, a 7-mile horse-drawn ambulance ride.

The buildings seen in this photograph were constructed 1908-1910. The 100-bed hospital was a more appropriate facility for the growing south Brooklyn community. The six-building complex was further expanded as the post-war Brooklyn boomed. Today the facility is called NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island and has 371 beds.