Tampa in Hillsborough County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
W.T. Edwards Hospital Complex
Photographed By PaulwC3, March 12, 2014
1. W.T. Edwards Hospital Complex Marker
Inscription.
W.T. Edwards Hospital Complex. . The W.T. Edwards Hospital, erected in 1952, was one of three tuberculosis (TB) hospitals built in Florida after World War II, and was funded by a state cigarette tax and federal monies. The other hospitals were in Tallahassee and Lantana. The complex included 10 buildings, six of which were particularly significant: the hospital, laboratory, employee housing, laundry and heating plant, nurses’ quarters, and state medical director’s residence. The hospital, designed by Charles Kuhn, was a significant example of the International Style popular in the post-war years. It was a long, narrow, concrete building with many windows, designed to provide interior air circulation and sunlight. The buildings were steam heated, and air conditioned except in the patients’ rooms. At the time, air conditioning was thought to be unhealthy for TB patients. The Tampa hospital was the only facility in the state to treat children with TB and to be equipped to admit patients under Florida’s compulsory isolation law, which provided that, for public safety, those who refused treatment due to religious beliefs could be confined and treated against their will. With the decline in the occurrence of TB, the hospital closed in 1974.
The W.T. Edwards Hospital, erected in 1952, was one of three tuberculosis (TB) hospitals built in Florida after World War II, and was funded by a state cigarette tax and federal monies. The other hospitals were in Tallahassee and Lantana. The complex included 10 buildings, six of which were particularly significant: the hospital, laboratory, employee housing, laundry and heating plant, nurses’ quarters, and state medical director’s residence. The hospital, designed by Charles Kuhn, was a significant example of the International Style popular in the post-war years. It was a long, narrow, concrete building with many windows, designed to provide interior air circulation and sunlight. The buildings were steam heated, and air conditioned except in the patients’ rooms. At the time, air conditioning was thought to be unhealthy for TB patients. The Tampa hospital was the only facility in the state to treat children with TB and to be equipped to admit patients under Florida’s compulsory isolation law, which provided that, for public safety, those who refused treatment due to religious beliefs could be confined and treated against their will. With the decline in the occurrence of TB, the hospital closed in 1974.
Erected 2007 by Hillsborough Community College and the Florida Department of State. (Marker
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Number F-599.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Charity & Public Work. A significant historical year for this entry is 1952.
Location. 27° 58.652′ N, 82° 30.569′ W. Marker is in Tampa, Florida, in Hillsborough County. Marker can be reached from West Tampa Bay Boulevard, 0.2 miles east of Dale Mabry Highway. The marker is located on the Dale Mabry Campus of Hillsborough Community College. It can be found just east of the Tennis Complex, behind the main buildings. The marker sits at the approximate location of the W.T. Edwards Hospital Complex. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4001 West Tampa Bay Boulevard, Tampa FL 33614, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on March 16, 2014, by PaulwC3 of Northern, Virginia. This page has been viewed 2,545 times since then and 361 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on March 16, 2014, by PaulwC3 of Northern, Virginia.
