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lawndale pest house and isolation hospital
Posted by:
crowamonghens
(---.dsl.mindspring.com)
Date: January 29, 2010 02:29AM
just east of the Crawford generating station, in a small, separate square of streets bounded by 34th, 35th, Hamlin and Lawndale, older maps show an "Isolation Hospital". historicaerials shows the current industry that's there back up to the 1988 shots, where some different buildings appear. the only reference to it i can find online is at the Chicago Public Library archives site, and refers to "Lawndale Pest House and Isolation Hospital, 35th and Lawndale, exterior, 1890", so we know it goes back that far, but no link to a picture.
i know there was another isolation hospital, or a series of them, on the near north side along the lake, dating back to the mid 1800's. but i have never heard of this hospital, and am curious to find out more about it, when it opened, when it closed, and was torn down.
i know there was another isolation hospital, or a series of them, on the near north side along the lake, dating back to the mid 1800's. but i have never heard of this hospital, and am curious to find out more about it, when it opened, when it closed, and was torn down.
Re: lawndale pest house and isolation hospital
Posted by:
seod
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: January 29, 2010 05:36AM
That was the old dog pound. The building is still up and theres a dogs head statue above the main door. I think streets and sanitation use it now. Just to the east of there is an old site called "hobo hills" It used to be a garbage dump. It now has the job corp on it. Does anyone know more about this?
Re: lawndale pest house and isolation hospital
Posted by:
ziebehe
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: February 13, 2010 01:00AM
The full name of the hospital was the Chicago Municipal Isolation Hospital. It originally housed smallpox victims in the late 19th Century. It was run on behalf of the city by a Catholic order of nuns called the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ until its closing in 1950 whereupon it became the city dog pound and later 23rd Ward Streets and San HQ.
The PHJC archives are at Notre Dame Hospital. There is a South Lawndale archives at the Harold Washington Library that is supposed to have a picture.
I took a look at historic aerials (http://www.historicaerials.com) for 3400 s Lawndale in 1951. The pictures are not as clear as modern technology, but there appears to be another building directly to the west on what would be Hamlin Avenue. Today that particular part of the site is occupied by a City of Chicago Blue Bag Recycling Sorting Center.
I have searched the Chicago Tribune archives on the cheap (i.e., not paying to download an article) using search strings like “isolation hospital” AND Lawndale “3400 s Lawndale. There appears to be some articles if you care to invest the money or already have an account for the Tribune archives.
Hope that this helps.
The PHJC archives are at Notre Dame Hospital. There is a South Lawndale archives at the Harold Washington Library that is supposed to have a picture.
I took a look at historic aerials (http://www.historicaerials.com) for 3400 s Lawndale in 1951. The pictures are not as clear as modern technology, but there appears to be another building directly to the west on what would be Hamlin Avenue. Today that particular part of the site is occupied by a City of Chicago Blue Bag Recycling Sorting Center.
I have searched the Chicago Tribune archives on the cheap (i.e., not paying to download an article) using search strings like “isolation hospital” AND Lawndale “3400 s Lawndale. There appears to be some articles if you care to invest the money or already have an account for the Tribune archives.
Hope that this helps.
Re: lawndale pest house and isolation hospital
Posted by:
crowamonghens
(---.dsl.mindspring.com)
Date: February 13, 2010 02:35AM
thank you for all that info.
from what i've dug up, i've gathered that there were two buildings, a smaller smallpox hospital and another that was built a few years later. that would be the one at the corner of 34th and lawndale and, as an earlier person stated, has a dog's head above the doorway.
yeah, i've noticed that hamlin bldg. i think that was it. there is documentation of a lawsuit filed by the owners of the land across hamlin, for building the hospital directly across from them (which is funny as THEIR land eventually became part of the electric station, anyway). the really early aerials are hard to discern through the clouds pouring off the crawford generating station.
from what i've dug up, i've gathered that there were two buildings, a smaller smallpox hospital and another that was built a few years later. that would be the one at the corner of 34th and lawndale and, as an earlier person stated, has a dog's head above the doorway.
yeah, i've noticed that hamlin bldg. i think that was it. there is documentation of a lawsuit filed by the owners of the land across hamlin, for building the hospital directly across from them (which is funny as THEIR land eventually became part of the electric station, anyway). the really early aerials are hard to discern through the clouds pouring off the crawford generating station.
Re: lawndale pest house and isolation hospital
Posted by:
daveg
(---.lightspeed.joltil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: February 15, 2010 03:41PM
I remember the dog pound. Also remember a place close by we kids called 7 hills. Maybe the same place called "hobo hills" by an earlier poster? This would have been in the late 50s. It was a bunch of dirt hills. Have no idea who made them or why. I recall one of the hills was called suicide, the others were more rolling. Great place to spend some time with friends on our Schwinn bikes.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/2010 04:10PM by daveg.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/2010 04:10PM by daveg.
Re: lawndale pest house and isolation hospital
Posted by:
Caseyg
(---.emdiesels.com)
Date: January 29, 2013 01:45PM
I remember this area well. As a kid I used to go there a lot. I remember climbing into the abandoned Isolation hospital with my buddies on a dare. We went running away terrified that something was chasing us.It was one of those places that scared us big time.
There were two buildings. The one on Lawndale was the smaller one and when I was there it was a dog pound. The larger building about a block west was very large and had two stories with a basement completely abandonded. The cinder and coal piles from Commonwealth edison were next to that.
I also have many great memories of riding around and around on the seven hills with my bike. I wouldn't be surprised If I knew the guy who posted above. This was was in the late fifties.
There were two buildings. The one on Lawndale was the smaller one and when I was there it was a dog pound. The larger building about a block west was very large and had two stories with a basement completely abandonded. The cinder and coal piles from Commonwealth edison were next to that.
I also have many great memories of riding around and around on the seven hills with my bike. I wouldn't be surprised If I knew the guy who posted above. This was was in the late fifties.
