(former Eichler Mansion) Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Fulton Division

1285 Fulton Avenue @ SW corner of E. 169th Street

The large French Renaissance style mansion that today stands at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital’s Fulton Division harks back to the late 19th century.  It was originally the home of the German-born brewer John Eicher (1829-1892).    The Bronx had a large German population, especially following the Revolution of 1848 when many started migrating to the United States and neighborhoods like Morrisania.   Eichler trained as a brewer in Germany and his was just one of some twenty-two Bronx breweries like Haffen, Ebling, Hoffman, Mayers and Zeltner.  These brewers produced the beer enjoyed in homes and at local German beer gardens. The mansion is a reminder today of Eichler’s thriving brewery business.  The complex took up an entire city block and was just around the corner from his home.

 

The Eichler Mansion was constructed from 1888-1889. It was designed by De Lemos and Cordes and is a solidly built 2-1/2-story brick structure with terra cotta details, triangular gables, a slate mansard roof and a projecting central bay incorporated into an enclosed porch.  An angled corner tower breaks the building’s structural symmetry. The interior of the mansion still has much of its original woodwork, sliding doors and stained glass. The basement of the spacious building was originally the servant quarters.  

 

Architects Emile De Lemos and William Cordes were born and educated in Germany. They completed many architectural commissions within the German-American community and were especially known for their department stores and commercial buildings.  Their later Bronx commissions include: the landmarked Keuffel & Esser Co. Building; and the Refrigeration Plant, Wholesale Market and Storage Building at the Bronx Terminal Market.

 

After the death of John Eichler’s widow, the mansion and surrounding property was purchased in 1918, from the heir Jacob Siegel, by the fledging Bronx Hospital.  The hospital converted the mansion to a 110-bed hospital for the treatment of children and adults.  Within seven years, Bronx Hospital needed more space and built the current nine-story building across the street from the mansion.  

 

When Bronx Hospital merged with Lebanon Hospital in 1962, becoming Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, the old Eichler Mansion continued to be used at the hospital’s Fulton Division.  This division focuses today on psychiatric and substance abuse programs. It is also a skilled nursing facility for the long term care of geriatric and AIDS patients.  Needing a larger facility, the hospital expects to demolish the old mansion.

 

Janet Butler Munch