Madera County Hospital - Madera CA

City:: Madera, CA
Site Type:: Education and Health, Civic Facilities, Hospitals and Clinics
New Deal Agencies:: Public Works Funding, Public Works Administration (PWA)
Completed:: 1935
Designer:: Ernest J. Kump
Quality of Information:: Very Good
Site Survival:: No Longer Extant

Description

The Madera County Hospital was built using Public Works Administration funds and Works Progress Administration labor.

The PWA built building is now the headquarters of the Madera County Public Health Department. There was a bronze plaque inside the building where the entrance used to be indicating the date, 1935, the supervisors, and the architect Ernest J. Kump.

‘It is a one-story building and provides an operating department of six rooms, an X-ray department of three rooms, a maternity unit of 10 rooms including two wards, a children’s ward, a dental department of three rooms, nine men’s wards, two solariums, an observation room, a mortuary, and kitchen and dininig rooms for the staff and help.’

WPA job card descriptions:

“WPA Proj. No. 0421-267, $1,920, Dec. 14, 1935, “Domestic help at hospital.”

“WPA Proj. No.165-3-2549, $10,094, Oct. 18, 1936 “At the County Hospital, demolish and salvage the materials of the east wing. Construct single story wards for old people and a superintendent’s residence including work incidental thereto near the city of Madera, in Madera County. Exclusive of projects specifically approved. County owned property.” Months to complete 15, average men employed 54, total all funds $18,838″ [the three orange buildings are made of adobe bricks which came out of a separate WPA project to produce adobe bricks for projects like this] [This became the old mans home, now its the Madera County Adult Probation]

“WPA Proj. No. 165-3-2060, $13,964, Oct. 10, 1936 “Dismantle wing of hospital and salvage material. Construct ward building including work incidental thereto at Madera Co. Hospital, SE of the City of Madera, Madera County. County owned property.” Months total 19, average men employed 74, Federal funds $13,964, Sponsor funds $3,942″

“WPA Proj. No. 165-3-2082, $10,354, Dec. 16, 1936 “Construct a granite veneered, frame hospital building, including necessary facilities and other work incidental thereto at the County Hospital near Madera, Madera County. County owned property.” Total months 14, Average men employed 56, Total All Funds $13,580 [this became the old womans rest home, now its the Madera County Family Treatment]

“WPA Proj. No. 0421-302, $1,440, January 23, 1936, “To grow vegetables on 4 1/2 acres of Co. Hospital Grounds.”

“WPA Proj. No.165-03-8015, $2,240, Oct. 6, 1936 “On the Madera County Hospital grounds near Madera, Madera Co., to provide employment for needy persons to grow vegetables for free distribution to needy persons. County owned property.” total months 5, average men employed 7″

“WPA Proj. No. 165-3-7380, $480, March 3, 1937 “To provide employment for needy persons to furnish domestic help to the hospital staff of the Madera County Hospital. This project will operate in Madera, Madera County. This project employs mostly women and regularly employed personnel will not be displaced. In addition to projects specifically approved. A continuation of work begun under O.P. No. 65-3-3861″ Months length 1, Average employed 6, Total all funds $632″

“WPA Proj. No. 65-1-08-40, $1,735, Aug. 7, 1939 “A non-Federal project to complete the construction of warehouse, residences, paint and carpentry shops, and incinerator the the County Welfare Headquarters and at the County Hospital near Madera, in Madera County, and perform incidental and appurtenant work. Project also includes obtaining materials for use on this project. In addition to projects specifically approved. Months length 36, Average employed 18, total all funds $2,526″

Source notes

National Archives and Records Administration Record Group California 69-N

Works Progress Administration job cards.

Short, C. W. and R. Stanley-Brown (1939) Public Buildings: Architecture Under the Public Works Administration, 1933 to 1939. United States Government Printing Office: Washington, DC.

Site originally submitted by The Living New Deal on May 29, 2010.
Additional contributions by Brent McKee, 2017; Andrew Laverdiere, 2018.

Location Info

401 West Yosemite Ave.
Madera, CA 93637
Madera County

Location notes:
Location is for the old Madera Sanitarium which the PWA building replaced. It is not clear whether the PWA hospital was on this site or not, but if so then it is no longer here. The new Madera County Hospital which replaced the PWA building is on Almond Ave.

Coordinates: 36.959232, -120.06444

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4 comments on “Madera County Hospital – Madera CA”

karen wells June 17, 2016

Hi,

How can I get a copy of the old Sanitarium for family genealogy purposes? My dad and brother were both born there (1931 and 1951). The address 401 W. Yosemite now has a 1 story bank on the site. I understand the old building lay vacant and abandoned for quite some time before the new Almond Ave facility was built 48 years ago (1968). Thank you for your help.

Reply
- Gabriel Milner June 18, 2016
  
  Does anyone out there have information to have Karen in her search?
  
  Reply
Karen Fegley July 8, 2018

I was also born in this hospital in 1950 and had a tonsillectomy in 1954. I remember the anesthesia being administered that day. I can remember what the hospital looked like as well. I have my birth certificate and the hospital bill for my birth. I think it was $35. So hysterical.

Reply
stan January 25, 2021

this building is located at 14215 tozer st madera,ca

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