Carson City’s first major hospital opened in 1949 on Mountain Street, at the corner of Fleischmann. It was small, with only 10 beds, but it was the perfect size for the town of 3,000. At the time this was the edge of town. Out the front door of the hospital there was a view of untouched fields stretching all the way to the mountains.

The 50s and 60s were a time of rapid growth in Carson City, though. By 1970 the population had grown five times to 15,000. So this small hospital wasn’t going to be adequate anymore. In 1967 they started building a much larger hospital right next door to the old one. On August 28, 1968, the new hospital was nearing completion. On that day sparks from the construction site were blown on to the wooden roof of the old hospital by high winds. A small curl of smoke soon turned into a raging flame, and the fire department was quickly on the scene to start the evacuation.

Luckily, the hospital being small helped the evacuation go quickly. No one was injured, and patients were moved to other facilities around town, including Capital Convalescent Center on Highway 50, the infirmary at the Stewart Indian School, and vacant doctors offices across the street. But the old hospital was a complete loss. Doctors and nurses had to work out of these temporary accommodations for the next three months. Construction on the new hospital was accelerated, and it opened in November of 1968.

This new hospital served the community for four decades. It was expanded, with a new wing being built on the site of the old hospital, but by the 21st century the city had again outgrown it. A new hospital was built at the north end of town, which opened in 2005. This old hospital is not unused, though. It still houses medical services, such as Behavioral Health, Wound Care, and the Eye Surgery Center. The north wing sits where the old hospital used to be.

See more photos of the old hospital here.