Cook County Hospital II

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Cook County Hospital II
Life Span: 1876-1910
Location: Block bounded by Harrison, Polk, Wood, and Lincoln streets.
Architect: John C. Cochrane

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1880

Cook County Hospital

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1885
Athenæum Bldg.—48 to 54 Dearborn

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1904
Cook County Hospital—W. Harrison sw cor Wood.

Inter Ocean, September 2, 1875

PROPOSALS.
The Board of Commissioners of Cook County will receive bids until 12 o’clock m., Sept. 13, A. D. 1875, for the steam-heating apparatus for two medical pavilions for the new Cook County Hospital, now being erected on the block bounded by Harrison, Polk, Wood, and Lincoln streets. The workmanship and materials to be in accordance with the plans and specifications prepared by John C. Cochrane, architect, which can be seen at his office, No. 16 Nixon’s Building.

Each proposal must be placed in a sealed envelope, and indorsed “Proposal” on the envelope; and accompanying the bid must be a bond, with two or more sureties to the county of Cook, in the sum of five thousand dollars as surety, that the party making the bid will enter into a contract, and give good and sufficient surety (to be approved by the Board of Commissioners of Cook County) for the faithful performance of the same should the contract be awarded to him or them, the bond to be inclosed in a separate sealed envelope and indorsed “Bond” on the envelope, and together with the bid to be put in another and separate envelope, and indorsed “Proposal and Bond for Steam Heating Apparatus for Cook County Hospital Building,” and delivered at the office of the Clerk of the Board of Commissioners on or before 12 o’clock m., September 13, A. D. 1875, as no bid will be received after that hour.

Proposals will also be received for filling the lot against and around the two medical pavilions (amounting to 7,000 cubic yards, more or less) in accordance with the specifications which can be seen at J. C. Cochrane’s (architect) office. Bids for this work will be received at the aforesaid clerk’s office until 12 m., Sept. 9th, 1875. The bids must be sealed and accompanied with bonds, the same as for steam heating proposals.

The Board of Commissioners of Cook County reserve the right to reject any or all the bids, or to accept any bid they may deem best for the interests of the county.

By order, Hermann Lieb, Clerk.

Inter Ocean, October 9, 1876

OUR NEW INFIRMARY.
The New County Hospital Now Ready for the Reception of Patients.
The new Cook County Hospital was formally opened last Saturday. The building is situated on the corner of Harrison and Wood streets, is gothic in its style of architecture, and cost about $275,000. The interior of the hospital is finely arranged with especial reference to light and ventilation, and its accommodations are for 300 people, although should an exigency arise more can be cared for. In the old hospital there are now about 203 patients, and these will be transferred from the old to the new building sometime during the coming week as fast as it is possible. A great many improvements have been made in the new hospital. For instance, telegraphic communication has been established between the police headquarters, the Coroner’s office, and the hospital. Several changes and improvements are being contemplated, and no effort or expense will be spared to make this a model institution Indeed it is time that we should have hospital commensurate with the needs of the city. The opening of the institution was celebrated by a dinner and speeches. Several members of the County Board were present and a number of citizens who had been specially invited. Speeches were made by Commissioners Cleary. Guenther, Ayers, and Dr. Powell, and every one highly praised the character of the work and the conveniences of the new hospital.

Rand, McNally & Co.’s Bird’s-eye Views, 1893

THE COOK COUNTY HOSPITAL GROUP
The engraving on the opposite page brings down to date a view of one of the most remarkable groups of charitable and educational buildings in the world. Twenty years ago, there could be seen in this region only the frame structures that now stand at the northeast corner of Honoré and Harrison streets. The nucleus of this great uplifting has been the Cook County Hospital, whose pavilions fill the mammoth city square in the center, and of this institution only the stables are out of sight at the right. The medical colleges, of necessity, affiliate with the free hospital. This group of buildings is in itself one of the most prophetic things about Chicago. That cities a hundred years old have not. made the philanthropical efforts that are here recorded within twenty years demonstrates the growing power of the West. The League Base-ball Park lies just south of the County Hospital.

① Cook County Hospital.
The Administration Building.— This is the main pavilion, and was formerly ornamented with an extended and impressive stone stairway, but the frost undermined this great porch, and to save the pavilion itself the fine entrance-way was sacrificed. A semicircular approach still remains at the entrance. This pavilion is 90 feet wide, 152 feet deep, and 4 stories high. The semi-Gothic tower is 168 feet high, and can be seen from Halsted Street, over a mile away.

East and West Pavilions.—These are 34 feet wide, 104 feet deep, and 3 stories high, with windows all around. Here are the surgical wards.

Wings.—These are pavilions extended northward from the extremes of corridor to afford room for additional wards. They are each 50 feet wide, 56 feet deep, and 3 stories high. The children’s ward occupies the west wing, the accident ward being in the east wing. The wings stand nearer to Wood and Lincoln streets, respectively, than the east and west pavilions, and are connected by

The Corridor.—The east and west corridor is a covered, heated, lighted walk for invalids. It has a length of 236 feet, a width of 24 feet, and is 2 stories high.

The New Pavilion, added to the group in 1893 at a cost of $83,000, may be seen at the extreme right of the view, and facing the Woman’s Medical College. It has a frontage of 208 feet on Wood Street, is 76 feet wide, and 64 feet or 4 stories high.

The Contagious Ward occupies the fourth story of the new pavilion and is absolutely isolated from the remainder of the building, having separate entrance and elevator service, two men’s wards 48 x 21 feet, 2 women’s wards 32 x25 feet, and 5 private wards.

The Amphitheater.—In the rear portion of the second story of the main pavilion is a clinical amphitheater. Seating capacity, 600.

The Kitchen, Bakery, Laundry, Etc.—Between the wings, and extending a great distance southward from them, is that portion of the Administration Building which contains the dining-room for employes, the upholstering department, the main kitchen, the store, the store-room, the laundry, the bakery, and the ice-house, holding 40 tons of ice. It is 64 feet wide, 70 feet deep, and 3 stories high.

The Boiler Room contains 4 engines, 2 of which are high-pressure. These furnish light, heat, and power. A high smoke-stack adds to the evils of the smoke question. This building is 118 feet deep and 84 feet wide; extended in 1892, at a cost of $12,000.

The Morgue is the next and last building in a straight line southward. It is 44 feet square, lighted by skylights only, and lined with antiseptic glazed brick. It was built in 1892, at a cost of $30,000, being modeled after the famous Paris morgue, and is the finest in the world.

Other Buildings.—The crematory for burning garbage adjoins the Morgue on the west; the stables are at the northeast corner of Lincoln and Polk streets; the gate-keeper’s lodge is on Lincoln Street, and all supplies enter there, as well as the outside dead.

The Detention Hospital.—Here the insane are kept, awaiting the sessions of court at this building which adjudge and determine their cases; and children are cared for until satisfactorily placed in some industrial training-school. This edifice was built at the northwest corner of Wood and Polk streets in 1892. It fronts 100 feet on Wood and 80 feet on Polk Street, with 3 stories, and cost $47,000.

②. Chicago Post Graduate Medical School and Hospital,
Near the northeast corner of Lincoln on Harrison Street. This new building is 55 feet wide and 100 feet deep, with 5 stories and basement. It has1 extra large elevator. A plain exterior of pressed brick and terra cotta. Cost, $35,000; dedicated May1, 1893.

③ West Division High School.
This fine structure has a tower-clock which is in sight far up and down Ogden Avenue, a thoroughfare that cuts slightly on the premises. The building, with this exception, stands at the southeast corner of Lincoln and Congress streets, extending to Honoré Street. It fronts 195 feet on Congress and 105 on Honore and Lincoln streets. The material used is red brick trimmed with white stone. The heating, ventilation, and water service are of the best. There are 24 rooms,86teachers, and 1,400 pupils.

④ College of Physicians and Surgeons.
At the northwest corner of Harrison and Honoré streets is one of the principal medical schools in this region. The building is 100 feet square, and has recently been enlarged—a box-like addition having been made to a facade which was built in the once-fashionable style of Mansard and other Parisian builders. There are 6 stories and basement, a great amphitheater, and a dispensary. It has separate laboratories for chemistry, histology, and pathology. Building cost $125,000; equipments $20,000.

⑤ Congress Hall.
This is a beautiful little hall, built at the southeast corner of Honoré and Congress streets in 1887, by Michael C. McDonald, at a cost of $20,000. The building is of rock-faced Lemont stone, fronting 60 feet on Congress Street and 100 feet on Honoré Congress Hall occupies the entire second story, comparing favorably with any of the smaller down-town halls. The third floor is occupied by secret societies and lodges.

⑥ Illinois Training School for Nurses.
South of Congress Hall, at 304 Honoré Street. This school was established in 1880, and the building erected 2 years later, at a cost of $40,000. It has already attained an enviable reputation, and the graduates are in demand at highly remunerative salaries.

⑦ Marquette School Buildings.
These structures occupy the whole of the east half of the block in which the training-school last described is located. The old building is at the southwest corner of Wood and Congress streets. It was built in 1879, accommodates 800 pupils, and cost $45,000. The new building is at the northwest corner of Wood and Harrison streets, with 126 feet on the latter thoroughfare and 74 feet on the former. This building cost $75,000.

⑧ The Presbyterian Hospital.
This noble building is a fire-proof structure of great height and value, fronting the whole way between Wood Street and Hermitage Avenue on Congress Street. It began with a structure adjoining Rush Medical College, fronting on Wood Street, but has rapidly grown in all directions, its latest acquisition being the property along Hermitage Avenue. Nothing was spared in erecting the Jones memorial, to make this splendid pile an enduring and successful charity. Many churches sustain beds here.

⑨ Rush Medical College
Fronts 125 feet on Wood and 125 feet on Harrison Street, at the northeast corner. This was the first of the high buildings in this region, and looked more like a tower than a house, though now its 70 feet of height fail to impress it especially on the eye. Before the Great Fire this celebrated college was located on the North Side, where it was founded in 1837. It has an amphitheater, a dispensary, and all the appurtenances of a popular school of medicine. The edifice is built of red brick with stone trimmings. Total cost, $58,000.

⑩ Chicago College of Dental Surgery
Fronts 68 feet on Harrison Street and 83 feet on Wood, at the southeast corner. This 5-story building is of Bedford sandstone in the lower story and pressed brick and terra cotta above. The college was established in 1882. the present building being completed in 1893, at a cost of $75,000.

⑪ Laboratory of Rush Medical College.
This building stands just east of the above described college, and almost opposite its parent establishment. It fronts 125 feet on Harrison Street, and is 85 feet deep. In form it is much like the Dental College, with Bedford stone to the second story sill-course, where terra cotta and Roman brick finish out the height of 72 feet. Cost, $50,000.

⑫ Chicago Homeopathic Medical College.
This is the third of the large and popular professional schools of this quarter. It stands at the southeast corner of York and Wood streets, with 75 feet of frontage on Wood and 150 feet on York. Its 4 stories contain a large amphitheater, a dispensary, offices, and a hospital, and its existence for 12 years, with increasing classes, has given great encouragement to the followers of Hahnemann’s principles. Building of red brick, with pavilions; cost $75,000 in 1881.

⑬ The “Woman’s College,
On Lincoln Street, just opposite the new pavilion of the Cook County Hospital, has long held the right wing of the advance that seeks to surround the great hospital with institutions where the student may learn and profit through the inevitable misfortunes of humanity. It has a frontage of 100 feet and a depth of 65 feet, with 4 stories. College established 1870; first building erected in 1877, and a large addition in 1889.

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