Our clients clearly remember Dr. Archibald as a fixture at MSBC for decades, with his own private office on the premises where he was present most Saturdays. He was often accompanied by well-dressed men in suits and ties. He was very friendly with the executive director at the time, Sherwood T. Ernenwein, and his son Richard.
It is our understanding that Dr. Archibald conducted annual “medical examinations” of every boy at MSBC which were often fully nude and occurred in a private examination room near the indoor swimming pool. At least one client reported that from when he was about 6 through 14 years old, Dr. Archibald took nude photographs of him at MSBC, often positioning and photographing his genitals. We also understand that the first director of MSBC, Albert B. Hines, was an avid photographer and installed his own private darkroom in his personal residence on the fifth floor of the East 29th Street clubhouse in Manhattan. In addition, Dr. Archibald, who was sometimes called the “pool doctor,” watched the boys as they swam naked in the Club’s pool.
As a non-profit institution with a long and storied past which helped many ‘eastside boys,’ the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club has an obligation to the children of New York City, its donors, and the public to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the organization’s sometimes-disturbing history.