This project was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian Made accessible through a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation and Photo Friends
The United States Veterans Administration Hospital, located at 13000 Sayre Street in Sylmar was the first Veterans Bureau hospital to be constructed on the Pacific Coast. It consisted of twenty buildings costing approximately $1,500,000 and had one of the finest tubercular institutions in the world. Upon completion, it could accommodated 232 beds, and in case of an emergency, could handle 1,000 cases. The American Legion medical committee headed by Dr. Browning, assisted the Veteran's Bureau in drawing the plans and superintending the work. The hospital stood until the earthquake on Feb. 9, 1971, when it collapsed. The site is now a tree-shaded park with a view of Pacoima Canyon and a plaque memorializing the quake's 65 dead. Photograph caption dated July 3, 1948 reads, "Many of the scores of workers at the big hospital live on the grounds in the employes' [sic] building, shown above. Nurses have quarters in a large building nearby, and doctors live with their families in duplex homes farther up the hill. The hospital is connected with the Valley points by bus and has a large parking lot for the use of visitors and workers who drive their own cars. Hospital police patrol the grounds to watch for parking and speeding violations."; See images #00116952 through #00116955 for all photos in this series.
Type
Image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;21 x 26 cm. Photographic prints
Veterans Administration Hospital (San Fernando, Calif.) Veterans Administration Hospital (San Fernando, Calif.)--Employees Hospitals--California--Sylmar (Los Angeles) Hospital buildings--California--Sylmar (Los Angeles) Veterans' hospitals--California--Los Angeles Men--California--Los Angeles Women--California--Los Angeles Palms--California--Los Angeles Lawns--California--Los Angeles Trees--California--Los Angeles Mountains--California, Southern Architecture--California--Sylmar (Los Angeles)--Spanish influences Lost architecture--California--Sylmar (Los Angeles) San Gabriel Mountains (Calif.) Sylmar (Los Angeles, Calif.) Valley Times Collection photographs
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