Togus Veterans Administration Medical Center – Augusta ME

Description

“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 medical center director, Malcolm Stoddard, sought to transform the campus into a modern medical facility. Stoddard received Public Works Administration money to modernize the facility, which, over the course of the decade, added 20 new buildings. Located in the northern section of the campus, the General Medical & Surgical Hospital (Building 200) provided veterans with the newest technology. To the right of the hospital is the Nurses Quarters (Building 209), now used as a Medical Administration Building. To the left of the hospital is a 1937 Theater (Building 210). Originally designed for live performances, it is now a movie theater that continues to provide entertainment to the veterans.”