"Monasteries generally bring to mind places of peaceful tranquility, often set in remote areas and tended by monks. But there is an actual monastery hidden away right in the bustling New York borough of Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Visitation Monastery opened in 1855, still active and working today, is home to the Sisters of the Order of the Visitation of the Holy Mary. Situated in Bay Ridge, and set on over seven acres of beautiful grounds, it is a peaceful idyll."
"Large parts of the grounds, however, are surrounded by a wall that stands over 20 feet tall, and the windows in the building behind the chapel are barred. According to their website, if you "have ever wondered what monastic life is like," you can "come for a weekend retreat" once you have spoken to the Retreat Directress. But before you sign up, remember that this once abutted the site of the former Inebriate's Home, Fort Hamilton for Kings County."
"As the population of cities boomed in the 19th century, so to did the number of saloons. Public intoxication quickly became a major problem in the overcrowded tenements. "Is there hope for the fallen.....the reclamation of the drunkard!" were common newspaper headlines, and large scale institutions were created to combat the problems of drunkenness. These institutions may have been progressive, but their gothic-sounding names today evoke nightmarish visions of Victorian madhouses."
The Brooklyn Visitation Monastery opened in 1855 and remains active, housing the Sisters of the Order of the Visitation of the Holy Mary. The property sits in Bay Ridge on over seven acres of landscaped grounds, but large portions are enclosed by a wall over twenty feet tall and chapel-adjacent windows are barred. Weekend retreats are offered to interested visitors after contacting the Retreat Directress. The monastery historically abutted the site of the Inebriate's Home, Fort Hamilton for Kings County. In the 19th century, growing urban populations and saloons produced widespread public intoxication and prompted creation of large institutional facilities to treat inebriates.
Read at Atlas Obscura
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