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cook county hospital building facade's ornamental glazed terra cotta in greater detail

 

following the recent announcement that the old cook county hospital will finally be rehabbed and put to new use, i took the time to visit the 100+ year old beaux arts-style main building, to photograph the facade and capture up-close detailing in the exquisite terra cotta ornamentation. the entire monumental structure of the old cook county hospital takes up 2 city blocks, and represents a historically important, largely intact example of this architecture, designed by paul gerhardt. though the hospital has antecedents in the nineteenth century, the main building as it stands today was constructed from 1912-1914, at the center of a future complex that would accommodate 3,000 patients by 1916. it was once the largest public hospital in the world. like the michael reese hospital, the old cook county hospital served a crucial service in chicago as a facility for medical research and training. unfortunately, the expansive campuses of both hospitals wound up in similar straits by the early 2000's-- vacant, struggling to survive financially, and facing the threat of wholesale demolition.

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as covered in a prior blog (on the demolition of the old cook county hospital's power plant), the main building has received much attention, and never failed to garner public support for re-purposing over razing. the rear wings, children's hospital, and power plant (respectively added in 1914, 1916, and 1926), however, were all compromised long ago. the few remaining artifacts and photo-documentation of these buildings are housed at urban remains.

 

in december 1910, paul gerhardt replaced william holabird as cook county architect, and in this position, he designed a new hospital to be constructed along 1825 west harrison street. in the end, gerhardt struggled with the board over different issues, and was forced to resign. his post was handed over to richard schmidt in january of 1913, though the original design of the hospital, completed within that year, was attributable to gerhardt. it remains of his best-known buildings. the 8-story structure features lavish detail: baroque cartouches, 3-story fluted ionic columns, classical moldings and pediments, and faces of lions, cherubs, and human figures all along the steel framed building, clad in yellow brick, gray granite and variously colored terra cotta.  the following gallery of images shows the exterior, captured during the "golden hour," when the evening sunlight cast an exceptionally warm glow along the intricate stone surfaces.

unbelievably, in 2002, the building's demolition was imminent, the site tagged to become a new park. preservation chicago had listed it as one of chicago's most endangered buildings, stating that in 1994, the illinois medical district had decided the hospital required demolition, with no study or report justifying the hasty and destructive course of action. luckily, the outpouring of public resistance to this plan prevailed, swaying developers from demolition toward reuse.

the future of this building looks promising. the rehab is projected to be finished by 2018, so in two short years, this building may be out of limbo, and transformed from an empty hospital into a mixed-use structure that includes a hotel with 250 rooms, 150 apartments, and retail shops. once the hospital has been rehabbed, the rest of the site (16-acres in all) could take another 15 years to complete. the firm of skidmore, owings, & merrill will be part of the development team.

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a picture from the early 1950's after the cook county hospital's first facade cleaning shows the dramatic difference restoration efforts could make for the building. as of now, much of the terra cotta is held together by metal straps, paint is peeling and the facade is ailing. nevertheless, the building is structurally sound, waiting to be returned to its original state.

 

 



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