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New Jersey State Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Children's Unit, Pavilion Road Photographer: Martin Reinbold Part of: Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

The Children's Unit brings together under one roof the typical tuberculosis sanatorium design features and functions usually located in multiple buildings in sanatoria through the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. In the design of sanatoria, specific activities and levels of patient health were separated and organized into distinct areas in the campus. For example, patients with incipient cases of tuberculosis were located in a separate area from the more advanced cases, and administration activities were located in a distinct area from the wards and from the recreation areas. The separation of cases and activities was considered important in maintaining order at the sanatorium. This separation was not possible with regard to children because they comprised a smaller percentage of patients than did the adults and because it was believed that there should as little interaction between juvenile and adult patients as possible. The Children's Unit is significant because it brought together all facets of a child's treatment into one building, creating a microcosm. Patient wards for incipient and for advanced cases, administration rooms, school rooms, recreation areas, and kitchen and dining areas, were all combined under a single roof. The order usually applied to the campus was imposed on the design of a single building. Survey number: HABS NJ-1230-A Building/structure dates: 1928 Initial Construction Building/structure dates: 1952 Subsequent Work Building/structure dates: 1956 Subsequent Work Building/structure dates: 1963 Subsequent Work