Rock Island Municipal Sanatorium

Rock Island Municipal Sanatorium
Opened	1917
Closed	1974
Demolished	1999
Current Status	Demolished
Building Style	Single Building
Architect(s)	Cervin & Stuhr
Location	Rock Island, IL
Alternate Names

History

In the first half of this century, most Illinois counties began to operate a TB San. This postcard, dating from 1935, shows the san built by Rock Island County in 1931. It was designed by the prominent local firm of Cervin & Stuhr to replace a circa 1917 San that had been on the southeast corner of 17th Street and 25th Avenue. This new San was built a block to the east at 2122 25th Avenue. It was able to house at least 79 patients, in contrast to only 20 at the previous building. Cervin & Stuhr’s red brick building did not look institutional at all. Although it was a restrained design, it was enhanced with details typical of the era. In many ways, it showed similarities to the Fort Armstrong Hotel, which had been built in 1924. Each corner had a zipper of white stonework quoins providing a strong vertical outline. There were three horizontal bands of white stonework as well. The parapet wall had a balcony effect on the elevator tower and above the main entrance.

Rock Island County’s san operated until 1974, when it was no longer needed, because new antibiotics allowed TB to be treated on an outpatient basis. The san was converted to the County Health Care Center, a skilled nursing facility, with a TB clinic maintained in the basement area. The nursing home was closed in 1995. The old san was torn down in 1999, with those who inspected it at the time agreeing its condition was very poor, despite its still attractive outward appearance.