Battle Creek in Calhoun County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Battle Creek Sanitarium
⎯⎯⎯
Percy Jones General Hospital

Photographed by J.T. Lambrou, July 12, 2021

1. Battle Creek Sanitarium / Percy Jones General Hospital Marker

Side 1

Inscription. Battle Creek Sanitarium The Battle Creek Sanitarium opened in 1866 as the Western Health Reform Institute. The institute was founded on health principles advocated by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. In 1876 Dr. John Harvey Kellogg became the medical superintendent at the sanitarium. Kellogg’s many innovations included the use of radiation therapy for cancer patients and the invention of flaked cereal. The sanitarium burned in 1902; the following year a six-story Italian Renaissance Revival-style building, designed by Dayton, Ohio, architect Frank M. Andrews, was constructed. Kellogg’s brother W. K. Kellogg worked at the sanitarium for twenty-six years before leaving to establish the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flakes Company. The Battle Creek Sanitarium is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Percy Jones General Hospital In 1928 the Battle Creek Sanitarium was enlarged with a fourteen-story “towers” addition and dining room annex designed by M. J. Morehouse of Chicago. After the stock market crashed in 1929, business declined; the facility went into receivership in 1933. The sanitarium continued to occupy

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the site until 1942 when the U. S. Army purchased the buildings and established the Percy Jones General Hospital, named for an army surgeon whose thirty-year career included commanding ambulance units during World War I. The hospital specialized in neurosurgery, plastic surgery and the fitting of artificial limbs. Approximately 100,000 military patients were treated at the hospital before it closed permanently in 1953. In 1954 the building became the Battle Creek Federal Center.

Erected 1990 by Bureau of History, Michigan Department of State. (Marker Number L0597.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Science & Medicine. In addition, it is included in the Michigan Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1866.

Location. 42° 19.566′ N, 85° 11.384′ W. Marker is in Battle Creek, Michigan, in Calhoun County. It is at the intersection of North Washington Avenue and Champion Street, on the left when traveling south on North Washington Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 74 N Washington Ave, Battle Creek MI 49037,

Photographed by J.T. Lambrou, July 12, 2021

2. Battle Creek Sanitarium / Percy Jones General Hospital Marker

Side 2

United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Michigan.

It is also in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Battle Creek Sanitarium (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Seventh-day Adventists (about 500 feet away); Soldiers Monument (about 600 feet away); Purple Heart Memorial (about 700 feet away); African Methodist Episcopal Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Battle Creek Community College (approx. 0.4 miles away); Michigan Central Depot (approx. half a mile away); Cereal Bowl of America (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Battle Creek.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Battle Creek House (was approx. 0.6 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Also see . . . Battle Creek Sanitarium. Excerpt:

In 1928, Battle Creek Sanitarium expanded with a 14-story high-rise with 265 guest
Photographed by J.T. Lambrou, July 12, 2021

3. Battle Creek Sanitarium / Percy Jones General Hospital Marker
rooms, called the "Towers", facing Champion Street. The institution went into receivership in 1933, and the Sanitarium started to vacate its main facility. In 1942, the U. S. Army purchased the main building and established the Percy Jones General Hospital.

(Submitted on March 11, 2023, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan.)

Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J.T. Lambrou, July 12, 2021

4. Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center

Wide angle of former sanitarium

Credits. This page was last revised on March 11, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 14, 2021, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. This page has been viewed 1,295 times since then and 83 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 14, 2021, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.

Battle Creek Sanitarium⎯⎯⎯Percy Jones General Hospital

Battle Creek Sanitarium
⎯⎯⎯
Percy Jones General Hospital