The National Methodist Sanatorium was a 1926 medical facility on Boulder Street in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was near the Beth-El Hospital, which is now Memorial Hospital. The Sanatorium was later used as the Air Defense Command and

North American Aerospace Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

(NORAD) headquarters on

Ent Air Force Base Ent Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located in the Knob Hill neighborhood of Colorado Springs, Colorado. A tent city, established in 1943 during construction of the base, was initially commanded by Major General Uzal Gira ...

Background

In 1874, Dr. Samuel Edwin Solly from London "moved to

Manitou Manitou (), akin to the Iroquois '' orenda'', is the spiritual and fundamental life force among Algonquian groups in the Native American theology. It is omnipresent and manifests everywhere: organisms, the environment, events, etc. ''Aasha ...

because of his wife's ill health." Colorado Springs's first medical facility was a small railroad

infirmary Infirmary may refer to: *Historically, a hospital, especially a small hospital *A first aid room in a school, prison, or other institution *A dispensary (an office that dispenses medications) *A clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambu ...

that was followed by the St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration 1888 hospital on Institute Heights and the 1890–1902 Bellevue Sanitarium (later named National Deaconess Sanitarium). Beth-El Hospital opened in 1911 along East Boulder Street on land donated by General

William Jackson Palmer William Jackson Palmer (September 18, 1836 – March 13, 1909) was an American civil engineer, veteran of the Civil War, industrialist, and philanthropist. During the American Civil War, he was promoted to brevet brigadier general and receive ...

. Two small Sanatoriums were built on Logan street near Bethel Hospital: The Idlewold in 1912 at 311 N. Logan and by 1916, Nob Hill Lodge at 319 N. Logan. In 1918 on the east side of Beth-El Hospital, a 1918 Contagion Hospital opened which was later renamed (either Daniels Hall or Nurses Home.)

Development and use

The sanatorium, part of the Beth-El General Hospital complex, was built for the treatment of tuberculosis. It was built on 29 acres east of the hospital for $2,000,000 () and dedicated on November 9, 1926. The Beth-El General Hospital became Memorial Hospital when it was sold to the city of Colorado Springs in 1943. The four-story National Methodist Sanatorium was converted into a building for the then- U.S. Army Air Forces at what would become known as the Colorado Springs Tent Camp in 1943. After a period of inactivity following World War II, the military installation was reestablished in 1951 and renamed

. The facility would continue to be used by various military commands tasked with the continental air defense of the United States and Canada until the closure of Ent AFB in 1976 as part of a service-wide post-Vietnam reduction in force. The site of the sanatorium is now on the property owned by the

United States Olympic Training Center The United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Centers (OPTCs) are two campuses created by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as training facilities for its Olympic and Paralympic athletes. They are located in Colorado Sprin ...

References

External links

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National Methodist Sanatorium (1927)
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Sunbathing, Porch on National Methodist Sanatorium (1927)
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Sunbathing, Roof of National Methodist Sanatorium (1927)
1926 establishments in Colorado Defunct hospitals in Colorado History of Colorado Springs, Colorado Hospitals established in 1926 Tuberculosis sanatoria in the United States