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Authorized by War Department General Order 48 on August 24 1943, Van Nuys General Hospital opened in early 1944 to serve as both a general and debarkation hospital. It was soon renamed in honor of Brigadier General Henry Patrick Birmingham (1854-1932), Medical Corps, U.S. Army. Birmingham Veterans Administration Hospital operated until 1950 and was acquired by Los Angeles City Schools a year or two later for the token price of $1.00. In 1953, Birmingham High School opened as a 7-12 grade school. Part of the high school campus was used as an air defense missile battalion headquarters from April 1956 to November 1968. Photograph caption dated May 11, 1950 reads, "Councilmen inspect Birmingham - Los Angeles City Councilmen Kenneth Hahn, left, and Ernest Debs, right, during tour of Birmingham Hospital at Van Nuys with Stuart Bankhardt Sr., center, chairman of San Fernando Valley Birmingham Hospital Committee. Here they examine fire sprinkler system valve."
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm. Photographic prints
Debs, Ernest E.,--1904-2002 Hahn, Kenneth Birmingham Veterans Administration Hospital (Los Angeles, Calif.) Veterans' hospitals--California--Van Nuys (Los Angeles) Hospitals--California--Van Nuys (Los Angeles) City council members--California--Los Angeles Fire sprinklers--California--Los Angeles Men--California--Los Angeles Van Nuys (Los Angeles, Calif.) Group portraits Portrait photographs Valley Times Collection photographs
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