The Octagon
The Octagon is a restoration of the administration building for the New York City Municipal Lunatic Asylum that opened in 1839 and became Metropolitan Hospital in 1895. With the closing of the hospital in 1955, the building fell into disrepair and was largely destroyed by neglect and a series of fires. In 2003, over the objections of many island residents, it was restored as the central lobby of a new two-winged, 500-unit apartment building built on what had been park land.