Great Western Tuberculosis Hospital

I returned a week ago from a grueling, but extremely productive, road trip out West. The hospital featured in this post was actually the last major destination we would see before setting off eastward on the long return trip home, but it was the circumstances of how our visit came to be that made me want to get these shots processed first. So let me start at the beginning.

There is a large derelict building in a nearby town, and we went to scout it out, thinking it abandoned. We found it thoroughly boarded up and secured, apparently tended to by somebody. However, a sign on the front door offered tours, with a phone number underneath. One of my friends called, and literally five minutes later a tall, wiry young man came pulling up in an old truck. For a modest fee, he offered a two hour tour of the place, and soon we were ushered inside. As it turned out, his name was Cameron and he was the sole owner of the place, having bought it just a couple years prior with the hope of restoring and finding new uses for it. His passion for old architecture in general, and this building specifically, was obvious, and in the three of us he found a rapt audience. The two hour tour grew to over three hours in length, and ended with an invitation to come by for rooftop dinner and beers the next day, an offer we gladly accepted.

The next evening we showed up, pizza and beer in tow, as the sun was setting. We sat outside until it got dark, and bonded over our shared interest in old buildings and history in general. When the topic of the large tuberculosis hospital a ways out of town came up, he offered to put us in touch with its owner. We were elated! This place had been on our radar, but we considered it off-limits as it was being renovated, with people living on site. A couple phone calls with the owner the next day culminated in a “come by tomorrow morning, we can put something together for you.”

The next day, the owner met us on the property of the hospital, and gave us a brief tour of the place. Over a short fifteen minutes, he gave us a bit of history, pointed out a few spots of interest, as well as delineated a couple areas he prefer us not venture into. We wound up on the roof of the main hospital building, and from here he pointed out which buildings he’d left unlocked for us, then basically gave us the run of the place.

His only condition was that he get to use any of our photos in the future, possibly as part of a “before and after” display once his renovations are complete. It was a condition we were only too happy to agree to, and thus I wanted to get his shots ready first, as it was the least I could do to repay his generosity. Not knowing the level of attention he’d want to attract, I decided to omit any names and specifics, as I think he already has enough issues with keeping out scrappers and vandals. Of course, none of this happens without the good word that Cameron intially put in for us, and I promise that a post on his building is upcoming and worth the read!

Thus, the photos begin on the rooftop of the hospital as the owner took his leave. Pictured below are a couple of the other buildings on the campus, with a good view of the mountains in the distance and the dramatic skies above.

.

.

Below it, the top floor was a veritable pigeon roost. It was difficult to spend much time here because of the sheer amount of bird droppings on the floors, but I ventured through if only to capture the surgery ward, with its reminder that there was a time when hospitals had certain special areas where smoking was not allowed, unlike the rest of the world. The hallway shot I think also proves that I’m not exaggerating about the pigeon problem.

.

The rest of this building featured all the charms of midcentury institutional architecture

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

This building took up the lion’s share of our day. The highlights of the few others we got to see were a funky modernist chapel, midcentury furniture, and a rickety attic catwalk that I dared not attempt. The day ended with some more exterior shots; one of the site’s water tower nicely lit and framed by a collapsed fence, and later, an outbuilding with a late spring thunderstorm brewing behind it.

.

.

.

.

.

We had a lot of fun shooting this place, and it really was a way to end the trip on a high note. But there was so much else we saw on this trip, including Cameron’s aforementioned property, that I’m excited to share. See you soon.