Hospitals and Clinics Sites

"In 1866, soon after Congress authorized the establishment of a National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, the Eastern Branch opened on the site of a former heath resort for the wealthy built by investor Horace Beals that had gone bankrupt during the Civil War. In response to an influx of returning veterans after World War I, Congress created the Veterans Bureau in 1921, followed by the Veterans Administration in 1930. The Eastern Branch and the other National Home branches were expanded to accommodate a new generation of veterans; the campus experienced a major building campaign. In the early 1930's, the new...

The Trachoma Hospital was completed in 1939 to serve the large number of patients in the Ozark region who were infected with trachoma, the leading cause of blindness at the time. Missouri was in a belt extending from Alabama to Oklahoma where trachoma was prevalent. The predominant forms of therapy were topical medications and in severe cases surgery. Interestingly, in 1937 (before the hospital was built), there was successful treatment of trachoma with oral sulfonalimides. Although this negated the need for the hospital, the start of WWII diverted available supply of these drugs to the military. In the absence of...

Cairo, Illinois's old (and since-demolished) Marine Hospital was located between 10th and 12th St., Cedar St. and Jefferson Ave.  As part of Federal Project F-26: Improving Facilities for Sheltering Transients, the federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) rehabilitated the hospital in 1933-4 "as a shelter for whites and a two-story structure was put in shape to care for colored transients. The work involved the installation of heating and toilet facilities, painting, plastering, glazing, and general repair."

A receiving hospital, and employees and nurses training buildings were constructed by the WPA in 1938-1941l. The receiving hospital has been demolished, but the other buildings are now state offices at 701 Elmwood St., Traverse City, MI.

Ten boys of the federal National Youth Administration worked at the old Trenton Marine Terminal. The facility is now a mixed-use development.

The federal Public Works Administration supplied "a loan of $120,000 to be repaid over 30 years, as well as an outright grant of $108,900" to Orangeburg for the construction of what was then known as the Tri-County Hospital. Construction occurred between 1936 and 1937. The building has since been demolished. When the 'old hospital’ was new, thetandd.com: "On Wednesday, Jan. 15,1936, a simple, but impressive, groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new hospital on Carolina Avenue. ... This new facility was to be three stories high, have a capacity of 125 beds, and face north on the corner of Carolina Avenue and...

Orangeburg, South Carolina's former Tri-County Hospital was constructed with federal Public Work Administration (PWA) funds during the Great Depression. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided support for construction of the hospital's nurses' dormitory. "In 1937 the W.P.A. approved a grant of $18,000 toward the construction of the student nurses' dormitory, which was to be built across the street. The total cost of this project was to be about $50,000. In April 1937, the voters of Orangeburg County approved a $60,000 bond referendum to help equip and furnish the new hospital, as well as pay $1,350 for the purchase of the lot...

Triboro Hospital for Tuberculosis in Jamaica, Queens was established in 1941. The Public Works Administration (PWA) approved a $1,317,825 (45%) grant for construction of the project in 1938.

"This structure is a combined preventorium and children's hospital, the two units being connected by a large recreation room. The preventorium consists of two dormitories, one for boys and one for girls, separated by a nurses' station, each dormitory accommodating 20 beds. The hospital has an X-ray and an examination and treatment room, three wards, eight single rooms, and the dining room and kitchen. The entire lay-out has a usable floor area of 13,750 square feet. The construction consists of reinforced-concrcic footings, wood frame with stucco finish on the exterior walls, and a mission tile roof. The nurses' home is a separate building...

At approximately the same time that the State Board of Control was considering the construction of a new Men’s Hospital, a need for a new heating plant was also being considered. Architect John P. Helleberg, of Kearney, completed plans for the power plant and boiler room, which when equipped would cost $40,000.00, 45% of which was to be paid for through a Public Works Administration (PWA) grant. In addition, a series of heat tunnels would be dug to move steam from one building to another, as well as new wells, an extension to the water system, the storm sewer system,...

National Archives records report that in 1933-34 the Civil Works Administration (CWA) did work on a tuberculosis sanitarium at 14th and Upshur in Washington D.C. There is no longer a sanitarium at this location, and it appears to have been demolished and replaced by the apartment building at 4120 14th St.

Construction of new additions to the 1884 US Marine Hospital in Memphis began in 1933, although the majority of the work was completed by WPA crews after 1935 (Van West, 2001, p. 94). Buildings added by WPA were the 3-story neoclassical hospital building, a nurses dormitory, and junior officers quarters (Metal Museum). The hospital closed in 1965 and currently houses the Metal Museum.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) funded the construction of the Infirmary, which was part of the PWA expansion of the University of Arizona. The structure was completed in May, 1936. The infirmary was remodeled as the Student Health Center in 1964.  

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) made extensive improvements to the Utah State Hospital for the mentally handicapped in 1936-37.  WPA workers constructed a Recreation Center (now the Castle Amphitheater) and a Superintendent's Residence (now the Hospital Museum), as well as remodeling the Central Administration Building, upgrading the heating plant, and doing maintenance work on the 320-acre grounds of the hospital.    The former Central Administration Building was a large Victorian structure and apparently the WPA renovation work included removal of gothic spires from the old building. Unfortunately, that historic building has been demolished and replaced by a modern administration building of...

The Museum at the historic Utah State Hospital for the mentally handicapped was formerly the Superintendent's Residence, which was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1936-37 as part of a general improvements to the state hospital complex.  That work included renovations to the Central Administration Building and a Recreational Center (now the Castle Amphitheater).

The original facilities at the VA Medical Center in White River Junction, Vermont were constructed ca. 1938 as part of the New Deal, with federal / Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. "Looking back to 1938, the WRJ VAMC began its service to Veterans in a comparatively small three story T-shaped building."

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted landscaping work at the now-former VA Hospital, located northeast of the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City. The property, now a luxury condo complex, is now privately owned. Its location has been described as 12th Avenue and E Street; the former VA Hospital building is closest to Capitol Park Ave.

Danville, Illinois's Veterans' Administration Facility was improved as part of Federal Project F-55. The federal Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted interior and exterior painting and decoration work at buildings on the grounds. The project "carried authorization of $3,100 for materials and a quota of 24 workers."

The Public Works Administration (PWA) and VA built the psychiatric hospital in Murfreesboro between 1936, when President Roosevelt authorized it, and 1940, when it was opened. It is presently known as the Alvin C. York Campus.

The WPA helped with a few projects at this Veterans Health Care facility in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. Ongoing Projects Proj. 9870 - Veterans Admin. Facil. Improve Grounds San Fernando - Federal Funds $15,815 - Men employed per month 39 - Months Duration 6 Proj. 11024 - Vet. Admin. Facil. Paint Building and Equipment, San Fernando - Federal Cost $12,354 - Men Employed per Month 35 - Months Duration 5 Completed Projects Proj. 6322 - Vet. Admin. Facil. Paint Hospital Building San Fernando - Federal Cost $3,845 Sponsor Costs $1,311 - Men Employed Per Month 8 - Months Duration 4 Proj. 6963 -...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) provided labor for the improvement of the Veterans Hospital in Wappingers Falls, New York.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) paid for a municipal hospital for Visalia CA in 1936.  The 68 bed facility served the community of Visalia until 1969, when it was demolished to make way for the new Kaweah Delta Medical center (pictured).

In 1935, a contract was awarded for the construction of support buildings and dorms at the Waimano Training School and Hospital (WTSH), originally named the Waimano Home for the Feeble Minded. The facility was originally an incarceration facility for individuals with developmental disabilities. The contract, listed as Public Works Administration Docket No. T. H. 8029, included “a new unit for boys at Waimano Home, Pearl City, for the sum of $177,341, of which $53,200 was a federal grant.” These auxiliary buildings have been slated for demolition as of 1999, but current status of the structures is unknown to the Living New Deal. The...

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and its successor, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), both engaged in improvement projects at the old Walter Reed General Hospital (as it was then known).  The entire army medical complex, covering around 80 acres, was closed down in 2011 and Walter Reed Army Medical Center  (as it came to be known) moved out to Bethesda MD.    The former site has been repurposed as the Children's National Hospital and a huge mixed commercial and residential development, The Parks at Walter Reed. CWA crews painted buildings, planted trees, and helped build an elevator shaft at the center...

The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center began life as the National Naval Medical Center under the New Deal. Congress appropriated the funds in 1937 and President Franklin D. Roosevelt selected the site in Bethesda, Maryland.   Architect Paul Cret designed a magnificent Moderne building with a tower that still delights (though much obscured by subsequent additions to the complex).  Construction began in 1939.  FDR laid the cornerstone of the famous tower on Armistice Day 1940, and the center opened soon thereafter (probably some time in 1941, not 1940 as most sources say). According to the official Center website, "The President’s vision was to...

The Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) supplied funds to enable additions to what was then the Warren County Almshouse. The exact location and building status is presently unknown to Living New Deal.

The Works Progress Administration spent $1,500,000 for miscellaneous alterations, additions, renovations, grading, and landscaping of grounds at hospital and institutions to New York's Charity Hospital. In addition, a nurse's home and a power plant were constructed at the hospital in the 1930s with the assistance of the Public Works Administration (PWA). Originally named Penitentiary Hospital and located on what was then known as Blackwell's Island, the first hospital was built in 1832 to serve the prisoners housed at Blackwell's Penitentiary. After the hospital was destroyed by a fire in 1858, architect James Renwick, Jr. designed a new building to be called City Hospital, on...

Formerly the Westfield State Sanatorium, what is now Western Massachusetts Hospital was constructed as a New Deal project with Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) assistance. The P.W.A. supplied a $364,275 grant for the project, whose total cost was $1,002,217. Construction occurred between Jan. 1936 and Dec. 1937. PWA Docket No. MA W1155.

The former Willard Parker Hospital received an addition to its laboratory during the 1930s as a Public Works Administration (PWA) project. The hospital was located at E 16th St. along the East River. The hospital closed during the 1950s and has since been demolished.

Originally called the Williamsburg-Greenpoint Health Center, it was the fourth of eight clinics to be built in New York City with federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funding during the Great Depression. The project was part of a city-wide public health initiative that focused on providing low-cost health care in poor neighborhoods where residents could not afford their own doctors. The Brownstoner reports that "..it was state of the art, and the only health center built in the entire country by the PWA that had a complete range of health and educational programs." The 1937 opening was presided over by Mayor LaGuardia, and, according to the...

TheLedger.com: In 1936 the Public Works Administration agreed to build a new hospital if all assets and operations were turned over to the city. The city was less than enthusiastic about assuming operations but reluctantly proceeded. About the same time, Dr. Simpson treated David B. Mills, a wealthy philanthropist who had been badly injured in an automobile crash. To show his gratitude Mills offered a generous gift of $20,000 to build the hospital contingent upon matching contributions from the community. Mrs. George Aycrigg chaired the fund drive that raised $22,472. Mills delivered his $20,000 and an additional $6,000 for equipment before...

Once known as the Wish-I-Ah Healthcare & Wellness Centre, this nursing home was built in 1928 as a sanatorium for tuberculosis by Fresno County and was sold to become a private care center for the aged when T.B. virtually disappeared in the 1940's. The WPA got involved in February 1936 by hiring a "graduate nurse from relief roll to assist Supt. and Medical Director of Wish-i-ah Sanitorium, to assemble data and keep records pertaining to tuberoulin as a diagnostic measure." WPA project 0412-345 $525. The WPA also engaged in construction work "on Co. Rd. to Tuburcular Sanatorium near Auberry. To improve...

Multiple New Deal agencies carried out improvement, development, and/or construction work at what was then Wrentham State School (now Wrentham Developmental Center). Annual Report: "Much valuable work has been done at the institution during the year through the use of funds provided by the C.W.A., F.E.R.A. and P.W.A. Nine out of many projects presented were approved at the beginning of the C.W.A. activities, and few were completed ..." "The projects sponsored by the government on the P.W.A. program, namely the addition to the laundry, which has been built but is not yet equipped, and the fourth nursery building which will be completed this summer, are progressing satisfactorily."

The Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted extensive improvement work at the Wyoming State Hospital in Evanston.

"The federal government’s New Deal programs, specifically the Works Progress Administration and the Public Works Administration, also played a direct role in Rock Hill’s economic recovery. Building projects included ... York County Hospital ..." (sc.gov) "The hospital which accommodates both white and colored patients opened May 20, 1940. It is modernly equipped, including X-Ray units, air conditioned operating and delivery rooms. A school of nursing is maintained." (cofc.edu) "The York County Hospital (2268), financed with county bond money, was another prominent Modernist building. When erected in the late 1930s, the hospital stood just outside Rock Hill’s city limits in the Town of...