Surgery in the 19th Century was not pleasant. Often times it resulted in a patient biting down on a piece of leather while a doctor in a three piece suit went to town on their limb with a saw, generally resulting in death by infection. Towards the end of the century however, that was beginning to change. The Syms Operating Theater was built in 1890 on 59th and 9th, and was the most state of the art facility of its kind in the country. It was designed to be an aseptic operating pavilion for Roosevelt Hospital, and was built at the bequest of William J. Syms, a prominent New York gun maker.

Syms commissioned architect William Wheeler Smith and surgeon Dr. Charles McBurney to build it. McBurney was to have full control of the pavilion’s features, and toured Europe visiting all of the state of the art operating rooms. The result was a building with clean rooms and no porous surfaces, with an amphitheater that could seat 300. McBurney was renowned for his work with the appendix, and discovered the diagnostic spot on the torso for appendicitis which is still known as McBurney’s point. Additionally, he was called to treat president McKinley after he was shot.

The operating theater would remain in operation until 1941 when it became the hospital mortuary. Portions of it were torn down in the 50s for the construction of a large tower behind it. It is now home to the Speyer Legacy School, a private elementary school. It was landmarked by The City of New York on July 11th, 1989.