© The contents of this finding aid are the copyright of the University of Chicago Library
© 2020 University of Chicago Library
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: University of Chicago. Hospitals and Clinics. Collection, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
The University of Chicago Hospitals were dedicated in 1927, following the construction of the Albert Merritt Billings Hospital and the Max Epstein Clinic. Over the years it came to include the Bobs Roberts Memorial Hospital for Children (1930), the Chicago Lying-in Hospital (1931), the Home for Destitute and Crippled Children (1931), the Walter G. Zoller Dental Clinic (1936), the Nathan Goldblatt Memorial Hospital (1950), the Argonne Cancer Research Hospital (1953), the Charles Gilman Smith Hospital (1953), the Chronic Disease Hospital (1961), the Goldblatt Outpatient Pavilion (1961), the Philip D. Armour Clinical Research Building (1963), the Silvain and Arma Wyler Children’s Hospital (1967), the Bernard Mitchell Hospital (1983), and the Arthur Rubloff Intensive Care Tower (1983). The Hospitals were renamed the University of Chicago Medical Center in 2006. As of 2019, The University of Chicago Medical Center is comprised of 43 hospitals and clinics.
The Albert Merritt Billings Hospital, the first medical school building at the University of Chicago, opened in 1927, and included the Nathan Goldblatt Memorial unit. Initially this hospital focus was care for adult patients and general surgical and medical care. As of 2019, this hospital remains open.
The Argonne Cancer Research Hospital opened in 1953 and was operated by the University for the United States Atomic Energy Commission. The hospital was focused on research into radio isotypes and controlled radiation treatments for cancer. In 1973, the hospital was renamed the Franklin McLean Memorial Research Institute.
The Bobs Roberts Memorial Hospital for Children opened in 1930 and provided care for newborns and children through 15 years of age. The Home for Destitute and Crippled Children opened in 1931 and primarily focused on caring for children with bone and joint diseases.
The Silvain and Arma Wyler Children’s Hospital opened in 1967, replacing the Home for Destitute and Crippled Children and the Bobs Roberts Hospital as a center for pediatric care at the university. In 2005, the University renamed the hospital the Comer Children’s Hospital.
The Walter G. Zoller Memorial Dental Clinic was established in 1936 in order to address the gaps in dental sciences and research. Its goals were to provide dental services to low income patients, advance dental education and research, and further the understanding of oral disease. The University closed the clinic in 2009.
The Windermere Health Center opened in 1986 and aimed to primarily provide outpatient care for older adults. The center is located a block from the Museum of Science and Industry, in the Windermere House apartment building. As of 2019, this clinic remains open.
This collection is organized into three series:
Series I: Operations and Units includes materials about practices and policies regarding, employees, volunteers and patients, and about the individual hospitals and clinics that form the University of Chicago Hospitals.
Series II: Publications contains publications, press releases, and newsclippings about the Hospitals
Series III contains oversized material.
The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections: