Schick General Hospital

Schick General Hospital, Department of Army (Root Park/The Village), 25th Avenue North at 5th and 6th Streets; 1942-1943; U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. This is a large acreage that contains row upon row of two-story, brick, barracks-like structures that were built to house the Schick General Hospital, Department of the Army. Almost all of the buildings have gable roofs, factory-type roofs with clerestories. And enclosed corridor system, with flat roofs, connects any of the buildings. Built rapidly and for a utilitarian purpose, the buildings are simple, plain, and generally devoid of any major attempts to achieve and architectural style. However, the Georgian Style is suggested by a few decorative features. The site plan also suggest an arrangement based upon Georgian models. The hospital was built on park-owned land in a war emergency situation. Named for the first medical officer to die in World War ll, William R. Schick, the hospital had a designed bed capacity of 2,014 beds, although there were 3,120 patients at its peak period in August, 1945. The hospital was under the Department of Army from March 9, 1943 to February 21, 1946. From 1948-1965, it served as a Domicilary of the Veterans Administration in 1966, the Job Corps occupied the facility as a training center. The federally owned facility was reverted back to local ownership and the property has been "parcelized".