The Girl Puzzle Monument Honoring Nellie Bly

The Girl Puzzle monument commemorates the investigative reporter Nellie Bly, who famously went undercover in 1887 to expose the brutal conditions of the Women's Lunatic Asylum that once occupied this island. At twenty-three years old, Bly feigned insanity to gain entry and spent ten days inside, where she witnessed patients suffering from neglect, freezing temperatures, and physical abuse. Her resulting exposé forced a city-wide investigation and led to significant reforms in mental health care.