Modern Woodmen Sanatorium
Colorado
Tuberculosis patients here slept one to a tent, in octagonal cottages modeled on Ute tepees and left open at the top.
On this ground stood a village of tents. Two hundred or more of them, each holding a single tuberculosis patient. A doctor named Charles Fox Gardiner designed them, taking the shape from Ute tepees. The floors were circular, the walls octagonal, the canvas and wood painted red, white and green to match the colors of the fraternal society that paid for it all. They had steam heat, electric lights, a bed, a washstand and a chair. They were also open at the top, with vents cut in at the base, because the whole theory of the cure was air. Patients sat outdoors in steamer chairs six to eight hours a day. Some did that for weeks. Some did it for years. They were told to bring a heavy overcoat, a cap with ear flaps, and mittens. Three times a day they ate rare meat, raw eggs, milk and rye bread. The first man through the gate, in December of 1908, was Eric Lund of Alexandria, Minnesota.
This is the first of 2 parts. The rest runs about 2 minutes and is read to you as you drive past. Hear the whole piece.
The tent-cottages were octogonal, and painted red, white, and green to match the colors of the Modern Woodmen of America. They were open at the top, and had inlets for fresh air at the base.
Written from Wikipedia, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Nearby, on the same roads
- United States Air Force Academy 3.7 mi The Air Force turned to a Hollywood director to design its cadet uniform, and cadets still wear it on the parade field.
- University of Colorado Colorado Springs 5.3 mi The university's administration building started life as a tuberculosis sanatorium that sold for one dollar.
- Western Museum of Mining & Industry 6.1 mi A replica 1890s ore mill here still runs, one of only five working stamp mills left in the country.
- Old North End Historic District (Colorado Springs, Colorado) 6.8 mi A college president bought this land as an investment, named it New Massachusetts, and was fired when it lost money.
- Old Colorado City 7 mi This place was the capital of the Colorado Territory, and it effectively functioned as one for only five days.
- Taylor Memorial Chapel 9.3 mi A woman built an entire pueblo-style church in the pine forest and worshipped in it alone for thirteen years.