Coordinates: 41°51′40″N 87°50′29″W

Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Administration

Hospital
The Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Administration Hospital is a
Edward Hines Jr. Veterans
second-generation Veterans Health Administration hospital in
Hines, Illinois, United States. It currently encompasses 174 acres Administration Hospital Historic
(70 ha) on its campus and leases an additional 60 acres (24 ha) to District
the Loyola University Medical Center. U.S. National Register of Historic
Places
Construction began in 1918 on land donated by the Edward Hines
Lumber Company that was originally Speedway Park, a board U.S. Historic district
track racecourse. The building was originally intended to house
casualties from World War I, and Hines wanted the building to
serve as a hospital after the war. Hines was successful in lobbying
the United States Congress to take over the facility as a veterans
hospital in 1920. In 2013, 45 acres (18 ha) of the campus,
including the Old Airmail and Postal Service Buildings from the
Maywood Air Mail Field, were listed on the National Register of
Historic Places as a historic district.
Main Infirmary Building shortly after
construction

Contents
History
Speedway Park and early developments
Early history
1920s–1940s expansions
1960s to present
Historical recognition
References
External links

History

Speedway Park and early developments

The history of the property in Hines, Illinois began in 1835, when

the land was sold to Frederick Bronson by the United States
government. The land was used for farming until 1914, when the
Speedway Park Association purchased the 320-acre (130 ha) lot to
develop a race track. The organization built a 2-mile (3.2 km) oval
wooden track on the land and held races starting in June 1915.[2]
The track was one of the longest board tracks in the United
States.[3] The course was host to a number of national and Location 5000 South 5th
 international racing Avenue, Hines,
competitions featuring Illinois
competitors such as
Coordinates 41°51′40″N
Barney Oldfield, Ralph
87°50′29″W
DePalma, Louis
Chevrolet, and Dario Area 45 acres (18 ha)
Resta. The track was Architect Schmidt,
initially very successful, Garden and
Car raced at Speedway Park attracting as many as Martin; H. B.
45,000 spectators.
Wheelock
However, the entry of the
United States into World War I in April 1917 doomed the financial Architectural style Colonial Revival,
viability of the racetrack.[4] It was one of the first board tracks to Neoclassical
close; most board tracks in the United States were closed by the NRHP reference No. 13000814 (http
end of the 1930s.[3] s://npgallery.np
s.gov/AssetDetai
Early history l/NRIS/1300081
4)[1]
The course was purchased in December 1917 by the Edward Added to NRHP October 9, 2013
Hines Lumber Company on behalf of Edward Hines Sr. Once the
United States entered World War I, the City of Chicago sought a site for a temporary military hospital. Edward
Hines Jr. was killed on the front lines in France in the opening months of American involvement in the war. In
his memory, Hines Sr. offered to donate his new property as a potential site of the Chicago facility; it was
selected in September 1918.[4] The Field Museum of Natural History was also considered as a location for the
facility.[5] However, it was feared that the conversion of the museum to a medical facility would prove too
costly. The fact that Hines' hospital was built to be a hospital also played in his favor.[6] Hines intended to
build a fireproof building that could house casualties during the war and then operate as a public hospital after
the war. Schmidt, Garden and Martin and H. B. Wheelock were awarded the commission to design the facility,
and the Shank Company was tasked with its construction.[4]

When World War I ended in November 1918, the agreement with Hines was terminated as there was no
longer a need to house casualties. The hospital stood partially constructed for the next two years as Hines led
an effort to lobby Congress to have the building taken over by the United States Public Health Service.
Secretary of the Treasury Carter Glass disapproved of the plan because no official contract was signed
between Hines and the federal government. However, an investigation by the United States Department of
War found sufficient evidence of a verbal agreement between the two parties. With help from Congressmen
Adolph J. Sabath, James Robert Mann, Martin B. Madden, and Carl R. Chindblom, a Senate vote on the
matter passed 33 to 27. $3.4 million was appropriated to the project under the condition that Hines provided an
additional $1.6 million. The transfer was approved in March 1920 and construction began again.[4]

The campus was originally known as U.S. Public Health Service Hospital Number 76, and was popularly
referred to as Speedway Hospital or Broadview Hospital. In honor of his contribution to see the facility
completed, on October 24, 1921, President Warren G. Harding declared that the facility was to be renamed to
honor Hines' son. It was the first American veterans hospital to be named after a person. The first patient was
admitted on August 8, 1921. A dedication ceremony was held on November 6, 1921 led by Marshal of France
Ferdinand Foch and Senator Medill McCormick.[4]

1920s–1940s expansions
The Main Infirmary Building was capable of housing a thousand beds, and by February 1922, was already
near capacity. The unique building was only 50 feet (15 m) wide, but 2,040 feet (620 m) long so that every
room could have sunlight. It was also the largest fireproof hospital in the nation, and featured many state-of-
the-art technologies such as an electric call system and an x-ray department. Seven other buildings were
erected during initial construction in 1921: the Morgue and Utility Shops; the Recreational and Library
Building; the Kitchen, Chapel, and Social Service Building; the Power House; the Subsistence Building; the
Garage; and the Supply Depot. The facility was transferred from the Public Health Service to the recently
created Veterans Bureau in April 1922. By 1925, the campus saw over 3,100 admissions per year.[4]

In May 1928, President Calvin Coolidge approved a $15 million appropriation to improve veterans health
facilities, including $1.1 million for Hines. With this money, the hospital was able to renovate its staff quarters
into tuberculosis and behavioral health wards. They also built a new administration building and employee
housing, thus opening more space in the Main Infirmary Building, increasing its capacity to 1,600. It was also
at this point that the hospital grounds were extensively landscaped with a sunken garden, a new street lighting
system, a new east entrance, and new drives. The landscaping is attributed to Jens Jensen, although it is
uncertain if Jensen's design was ever implemented. On July 26, 1931, the Doughboy Fountain was donated by
the Cook County American Legion Auxiliary in honor of World War I veterans. A memorial to Medal of
Honor recipient George Dilboy, who was killed in the war, was unveiled in 1942. Hines Hospital became the
national leader in surgery for veterans facilities, performing over 14,600 procedures per year by 1935.[4]

During World War II, a new eighty-three building complex was built adjacent to the property with a $4.5
million appropriation. Known as the Vaughan General Hospital, it was built on the 102-acre (41 ha) grounds
of the former Maywood Air Mail Field to serve the needs of the Army. The first patient was admitted on
August 1, 1944. The new campus was added to the Hines complex after the war in April 1946, increasing the
capacity of Hines from 1,600 to 3,253 beds. The new campus also afforded Hines the opportunity to
manufacture some of its medical equipment and establish a medical research division. In 1946, Hines partnered
with five medical schools to become a training center.[4]

1960s to present

In 1962, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare transferred 31 acres (13 ha) of the Hines property
to the State of Illinois Department of Mental Health so that they could build a new mental health facility. The
John J. Madden Clinic took over mental health operations from the hospital, allowing Hines to re-purpose 280
beds to intensive care. Also that year, 60 acres (24 ha) of the Vaughan campus were leased to Loyola
University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine to build a new medical school. The 451-bed Foster G.
McGraw Hospital, later known as the Loyola University Medical Center, opened on May 29, 1969. This
partnership allowed Hines to have one of the most comprehensive residency programs among veterans
hospitals.[4]

The Vietnam War brought another influx of injured veterans to Hines. In response, a $32 million, 1,200 bed
hospital was built from 1966 to 1970 to replace the Main Infirmary Building. A 120-bed Nursing Home Care
Unite was completed in 1982 to treat aging veterans of the two World Wars. By the early 1990s, the complex
had sixty-two buildings, including one of five Blind Rehabilitation Centers in the Veterans Affairs network. A
fifteen-bedroom Ronald McDonald House was added in 1994. By 1996, the facility had serviced 900,000
patients. The most recent developments are a new Blind Rehabilitation Center and Spinal Cord Injury Center
in 2005.[4]

Historical recognition
The historic value of the campus was recognized in 1980, when the Old Airmail and Postal Service Buildings
were determined to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service. The
buildings may be the oldest mail airport structures in the United States, serving the Postal Service between
1922 and 1927. Charles Lindbergh piloted the maiden air mail flight between Chicago and St. Louis, Missouri
on April 15, 1926.[7] Today, the buildings house a garage and an inflammable storage building. Two years
later, the VA hospital was also determined eligible for listing, although neither property was listed in the
following decades. These two entities were combined into the Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Administration
Hospital Historic District, which was listed on October 9, 2013. The 45-acre (18 ha) district includes twenty-
six of the early buildings on campus.[4]

References
1. "National Register of Historic Places Program: Weekly List" (http://www.nps.gov/nr/listings/201
31025.htm). National Park Service. October 25, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
2. Dick, Robert (2013). Auto Racing Comes of Age: A Transatlantic View of the Cars, Drivers and
Speedways, 1900–1925. McFarland & Company. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-7864-6670-2.
3. Borgeson, Griffith (1998). "Apendix II". The Golden Age of the American Racing Car. SAE
International. p. 323. ISBN 9780768000238.
4. Higgins, Holly; Thompson, Patrick; Spurlock, Trent (October 9, 2013), National Register of
Historic Places registration form: Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Administration Hospital Historic
District (http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/places/pdfs/13000814.pdf) (PDF), National Park
Service, retrieved November 13, 2013
5. "Hospitalization of Field Museum" (https://cdm17032.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p170
32coll7/id/95/rec/2). Field Museum Library Digital Collections. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
6. Military Hospitals: Hearings before the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds (https://arc
hive.org/details/militaryhospita00grougoog). Government Printing Office. 1919. p. 1039 (https://
archive.org/details/militaryhospita00grougoog/page/n1051).
7. Molldenhoff, Gjore; Tupek, Karen, Determination of Eligibility Notification: The Old Airmail and
Postal Service Buildings (https://web.archive.org/web/20131113220918/http://gis.hpa.state.il.u
s/pdfs/219316.pdf) (PDF), National Park Service, archived from the original (http://gis.hpa.state.
il.us/pdfs/219316.pdf) (PDF) on November 13, 2013, retrieved November 13, 2013

External links
Official website (http://www.hines.va.gov/)

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