This gigantic structure is at 1900 W. Harrison in Chicago, and it is truly amazing! Its a shame that NOBODY can get in there to investigate...well...you could try to sneak in. The actual hospital's (business entity) roots go back to 1834. Much of the buildings (which are now torn down) were constructed in 1875 and in 1876, and opened with a bed capacity of 300. That bed capacity doubled by 1884 to 500-600 beds! In 1884 the hospital treated almost 6,000 patients, and by 1910 the number of patients treated grew to almost 6X that amount - to 34,000 patients!
However, in 1910 overcrowding became a problem, and the facility was in desperate need of repair (rumors of rats and roaches), and that year the County decided to build a new 656 bed facility for $3,000,000 (that's A LOT of money in 1910). This facility was referred to as the main building (still standing & pictured above). In 1917, 2 more pavilions were added, making the total bed capacity 2,000 beds. The first trauma unit in the United States opened at Cook County Hospital in 1966, and by the 90s half of the admissions to the trauma unit were due to assaults and gun violence.
In 1991 the adult emergency room was one of the nation's largest and busiest, treating over 110,000 patients annually! The children's emergency room treated over 45,000 children annually.
In 2002 the new hospital construction, referred to as the New Cook County Hospital (Stroger Hospital), opened just down the street, and the Old Cook County Hospital (pictured above) at 1900 W. Harrison became abandoned.
We went back there again last Saturday night and found the front of the gate was open...creepy! All of the doors/windows appeared to be sealed, and those that were broken out on the 1st floor have bars on the inside to keep the creeps out...or the creeps in. A musty stench emanated 20-30 feet to the sidewalk from the broken windows...it just SMELLS haunted!
I have often pondered slipping myself through those bars, as I have a small frame and it usually works out. However, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be the only person who managed to squeeze through the bars. In the less desirable neighborhoods of Chicago, where the hospital is located, there are a few things that are scarier than ghosts...one that comes to mind - a squatter crackhead going through withdrawals. Yeah...so I don't think I would want to be alone in this massive paranormal playground - because God only knows what dangerous characters (living or dead) are calling that abandoned mold hole their home.
The County has possession of what is left of the campus (the 1 massive building - Site with GREAT Pics of the DEMO) right now & was going back and forth on what to do with it, until Q1 of 2010, they voted to spend $108 million to remodel it into a medical office building. Thank G they are not tearing it down!! Thinking that Cook County could potentially just bulldoze that work of art was giving me intense anxiety!
If you know anything about Cook County, or Illinois in general, the first word that may come to your mind is BROKE. Yeah...its embarrassing. Dear Cook County, here is a way for you to bring more visitors into the city & generate more revenue while you wait to start the $108 million renovation project on the building that is sitting there abandoned and rotting- LET PEOPLE COME AND EXPLORE IT! Yeah, safety could be a concern...with all the rot and toxins...but have people enter at their own risk...perhaps have them sign a waiver? Ya know what, Cook County, I think you could even charge people a fair rate for the dangerous privilege! I'm talking about income, Cook County, greenbacks, which you so desperately need!
Not only would the paranormal community within the Chicagoland area flock to it like CRAZY, but I believe that people would come from all over the US just to take a step inside before you remodel it...I bet photographers and artists would have a field day with the peeling paint and the raw creepiness!
I will continue to try to gain access (the civil & safe way), and even if I don't get in there to see what is lurking about...I bet that once its remodeled, its going to be one hell of a haunted medical office building that will be much easier to explore...
If ANYONE has been trying to get into this place, has any contacts on the construction teams bidding to do the remodel work, or any contacts at Cook County that could help us get this building's doors open for paranormal investigations, please contact us at 2ndCityParanormal@gmail.com .
Thanks for reading!! For more info on the hospital try checking out:
Finishing a novel based on strange and dangerous things within those walls. Hope it is effective.
ReplyDeleteWhats the name of the novel?
ReplyDeleteLove this place would die to go inside! Hahaha!👻
ReplyDelete