THESE chilling pictures show the decaying remains of an abandoned marine hospital which once treated hundreds of American Civil War veterans for yellow fever.
Eerie pictures reveal the operating equipment and medical apparatus left to rot at the site, which has lain derelict for more than 50 years.
The marine hospital opened in 1884 and consisted of six buildings – the surgeon’s house, a stable, the executive building, two wards and the nurses’ building.
But since then it has had a varied history, serving a number of different purposes before being left to rot in 1965.
The hospital was originally used to treat Civil War soldiers and conduct scientific research in hopes of finding a cure for yellow fever.
During the 1930s, several new Works Progress Administration - a public works organisation which provided jobs for millions of unemployed people - buildings were added to the site.
To make room for the new buildings, the hospital's wards and stables were demolished.
The executive and the nurses’ buildings were physically moved 300 feet on wagons pulled by mules to their new locations.
The nurse’s station is located on the east side of the 1930s hospital building and the executive building is now home to the National Ornamental Metal Museum, a museum for the collection, preservation, and exhibition of historical and contemporary metalwork.
RELATED STORIES
The three-storey neo-classical brick hospital building was completed in 1937 and built in the Georgian-style with slate roofing, a copper cupola on pedestals, and large limestone columns, capitals, and gutters.
Each wing of the building contained patient rooms and day rooms, while the centre section contained a dental ward, operating room, sound proof chamber for hearing tests and nurse stations.
Although built to serve the needs of sick seamen, the building was used to treat members of the coast guard, cadets of the state maritime academies, members of the coast and geodetic survey, public health fieldmen, the Army Corps of Engineers and employees and federal workers injured on duty.
After it closed in 1965, the western half of the property was leased to a group of businessmen in 1976, who would later develop Memphis's Metal Museum there.
The nurses’ dormitory now houses the museums galleries and gift shop, the junior officers’ quarters is used by artists in residence and other guests of the museum.
The property was sold off to a developer Lauren Crews in 2004, with the initial plan of renovating the ageing building into condos.
The plan has since been reevaluated and includes renovating the nurses’ station and main hospital building into apartments, and building a boutique hotel nearby.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErKynZpOke7a3jqecsKtfZ4FxhJRpa2iZkpa7pbvNnptmpZGntq%2BxjKGmrKiZqa6tec6nmp5lpaiypXnTqGStqpWWwW7FxKWjqK9dm7K3sdFo