Throwback Thursday – Mt. Sinai Hospital Addition

Were taking a trip back to February 1958 Milwaukee for this weeks Epstein Throwback Thursday for the grand opening of a new 300-bed wing to the Mt. Sinai Hospital. This $3.5M (27.8M in 2014) addition which not only added new patient rooms but also included a new boiler plant, expanded laundry facilities, a 4^th floor nursery and a host of other facility improvements.

This addition also included some very cutting edge technology including a pneumatic tube system for transporting information throughout the hospital, an audio-visual nurse calling system, automatic high-speed elevators, piped oxygen to all rooms and complete air conditioning!

The president of Mt. Sinais Hospital Board entrusted Epstein to completely update this venerable institution with every provision for the greater Milwaukees community medical needs and the care and comfort of patients, including subtle features like color. For instance, although its hard to tell from the black & white in our archives the building featured colored glass wall panels and shining aluminum framing which brightness & vibrancy was intended to help in the mental recovery of patients as well as uplift the spirits of visitors.

This facility, now known as the Aurora Sinai Medical Center, still stands, although with significant alterations in the nearly 60 years since it was completed. Thankfully the nice mid-century modernist glazing has not been modified, although a sky bridge connecting this building with a facility across Milwaukees 12^th street now juts out from the 3^rd floor exterior, which takes away from the simplicity of the original structure.