Fitzsimons Army Hospital, also known as Fitzsimons General Hospital, renamed Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in 1974, and Fitzsimons Building in 2018 was a U.S. Army facility located on in Aurora, Colorado. The facility opened in 1918 and closed in 1996. The grounds were then redeveloped for civilian use as the Anschutz Medical Campus and the Fitzsimons Innovation Community.

History

alt=Western Union telegram sent to President Dwight Eisenhower wishing him a speedy recovery from his heart attack on Sept 26, 1955.|thumb|Western Union telegram sent to President Dwight Eisenhower wishing him a speedy recovery from his heart attack on Sept 26, 1955.

Native people

The land the facility occupies is the sacred and ancestral territory of the Pawnee and Jicarilla Apache peoples. These groups controlled the land in the 1500s.

Founding

The facility was founded by the United States Army during World War I arising from the need to treat the large number of casualties from chemical weapons in Europe. Denver's reputation as a prime location for the treatment of tuberculosis led local citizens to lobby the Army on behalf of Denver as the site for the new hospital. In February 1918, the War Department recommended to Congress $500,00 be expended on constructions of the Denver hospital. U.S. Army General Hospital No. 21, as it was first called, had ground breaking in April 1918, was formally dedicated and opened on October 13, 1918, in Aurora, which at the time had a population of less than 1,000. The campus consisted of 86 stucco buildings and capacity for 1,400 patients. The first commander of the hospital was Colonel William P. Harlow, a Boulder native. He began his term on August 27, 1918, and had been the Dean of the University of Colorado Medical School before World War I.

1920s

On July 1, 1920, the facility was formally renamed the Fitzsimons General Hospital after Lt. William T. Fitzsimons, the first American medical officer (a surgeon) killed in World War I. On November 2, 1921, the Bunell, Colorado, post office was renamed Fitzsimons. The Fitzsimons, Colorado, post office closed on April 30, 1923, and the Aurora, Colorado, post office began to serve the area. The Army maintained the hospital in the budget for a few years before asking for work-relief funds to rebuild and modernize the facility in 1935. From 1935-1936 several improvement projects were carried out by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). At the time, it was the largest structure in Colorado and the largest single hospital structure ever built by the Army. At the peak of its development during World War II, the number of hospital beds increased to 3,500 and the hospital contained as many as 5,000 patients at a time. This was accomplished by the hasty construction of many temporary buildings. The hospital campus had also grown to become the largest military hospital in the world with 322 buildings on about 600 acres. In April 1943, a post newspaper "The Stethoscope" was first published and formal publication lasted until the closure of the base. In 1944, the first members of the Women's Army Corps (WAC) arrived at Fitzsimons.

The entirety of the floor was cordoned off from the rest of the hospital, and was referred to as the "Western White House". Flowers lined the hallways of the suite as well wishes sent from people all over the world. Mamie would assist in reading and responding to those that sent messages of good wishes and prayerful concerns to the President. Eisenhower was taken outside to the roof when his health improved and he would occasionally paint scenes of his memories from Colorado. He was motivated to try painting for relaxation after seeing how it had helped Winston Churchill. Mamie Eisenhower was provided with her own bedroom so she could be close by and assist in her husband's recovery. Her room was similar to her husband's with the exceptions of having a sofa, chair, television, and telephone. Mamie asked for her pink toilet seat to be shipped from the White House and installed in her room (Room 8021). The toilet seat is now in Eisenhower's family home in Gettysburg, PA. Another room on the eighth floor was designated for Secret Service use. Only authorized visitors were allowed to site in this room and wait to meet with the President. President Eisenhower's personal physician, Dr. Howard McCrum Snyder, also had a room on the eighth floor in order to be available at all times. Also on the eighth floor, the Bushnell Auditorium uses converted from hosting medical conferences to a command post and office for Presidential Aide Colonel Robert Schultz, and a theater for Mamie and others to watch westerns, comedies, and other movies popular at the time.

alt=Photo of Presidential stationery and the envelope used to reply to a well-wisher of President Eisenhower during his hospital stay in Aurora. The stationery card has a facsimile signature of Mamie Eisenhower and was postmarked on November 6, 1955, in Denver Colorado. A three-cent commemorative of the White House paid the domestic rate to Franklin Square, NY.|thumb|Photo of Presidential stationery and the envelope used to reply to a well-wisher of President Eisenhower during his hospital stay in Aurora. The stationery card has a facsimile signature of Mamie Eisenhower and was postmarked on November 6, 1955, in Denver Colorado. A three-cent commemorative of the White House paid the domestic rate to Franklin Square, NY.

Eisenhower celebrated his 65th birthday, October 14, 1955, while in the Fitzsimons hospital. Of the many gifts he received, he frequently used a set of maroon pajamas embroidered with "Much Better Thanks" on the left pocket given to him by the White House Press Corps. Eisenhower wore these pajamas on his first public appearance on October 25, 1955 on the hospital rooftop, an occasion documented on the cover of Life Magazine (vol. 39, 1955). The President and Mrs. Carlos Castillo-Armas of Guatemala visited Eisenhower on November 9, 1955. After his discharge on Armistice Day, November 11, 1955, Eisenhower spent a few weeks with his family in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania at his family's farm. In 2000, work began to restore the suite of rooms on the hospital's eighth floor to appear as they did when Eisenhower was recovering there. This was made possible through a $67,100 SHF grant, a $10,000 donation from Wells Fargo, and matching funds from the University of Colorado. The restored suite opened in 2003 and features many time period pieces such as nurse-call buttons, glass ashtrays, a Secret Service sitting room, nurse's station, and a private dining room. This figure represented 10 percent of the orthopedic population at the time.

1970s

In 1971, a drug dependency program began for returning Vietnam veterans. In 1977, the tuberculosis ward was closed. In March 1979, a $3.75 million CT scanner was delivered. The closure was completed in 1999 and the reserve center was relocated to the northeast portion of the site. The projected $5 billion (Economic Contributions of Activities at Fitzsimons Life Science District and the UC Denver Anschutz Medical Campus - Sammons/Dutton LLC, 2008) redevelopment of the facility into civilian use currently includes the construction of the University of Colorado Hospital's $147 million Anschutz Inpatient Pavilion, and the $509-million Children's Hospital. The medical campus also includes University of Colorado Denver medical education and research facilities, including the Ben Nighthorse Campbell Center for Native American Research, named in honor of the U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado. In 2008, the redeveloped Fitzsimons campus employed 16,000 workers and generated approximately $3.5 billion for Colorado's economy.

Additional facilities currently built at the former base include the Bioscience Park Center and Bioscience East (multi-tenant commercial lab buildings in the planned Colorado Science+Technology Park at Fitzsimons) and 21 Fitzsimons(a residential/retail town center). The Veterans Affairs Medical Center was opened in 2018.

In the Spring of 2013 a Donor Memorial Garden opened on the southeast lawn of the building. The garden serves to honor the whole body donors that are part of the Colorado State Anatomical Board and a popular meeting place on campus. Each class that was involved in fundraising for the garden are represented with a paver engraved with a quote voted on by class members.

United States Army Medical Equipment and Optical School

In 1963, the United States Army Medical Equipment and Optical School (USAMEOS) was transferred to the installation.

  • James E. Bowman was Chief of Pathology here during the 1950s.
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower was hospitalized here for several weeks in 1955 due to a heart attack.
  • John Kerry was born here on December 11, 1943, while his father was receiving treatment for tuberculosis.
  • Lord Bernard Montgomery British Field Marshal visited President Eisenhower in 1955.