The Sunshine House
Sunshine Cottage (1931 - present)
Advisory Dean: David Garber, M.D. '15
House Color - Yellow
In 1931, long before it housed NYMC’s administrative offices, the Sunshine Cottage building was Grasslands Hospital, a 35-bed children's tuberculosis hospital. During the 1940’s, when Westchester experienced a severe polio epidemic, the Cottage treated many children with the dreaded disease. The Cottage was adorned with animal and nature motifs that were created to raise the spirits of the sick children who were being treated here.
Today, you will see, sprinkled throughout campus, several statues that originally stood on pillars around the Cottage, which may seem whimsical at first glance. The statues are thought to have been modeled after characters in English author Lewis Carroll's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). In Chapter VI, the Fish-Footman and the Frog-Footman exchange notes to invite the Duchess to a croquet party with the Queen when they bump their heads together and get their wigs tangled. Alice thinks it's very amusing as she watches it all from afar.
Closer reflection reveals each historic artifact has now been purposefully placed, maintained or highlighted via signage as a way of paying homage to New York Medical College’s storied past and to represent the College’s longstanding commitment to caring for the complete person, mind, body, and spirit.