Aug 24, 2023

📷 Throwback Thursday: Hutch - Then & Now Collection - Vol. 32

Posted Aug 24, 2023 11:00 AM
St. Elizabeth's Mercy Hospital - 500 W. 20th - 1930 (Built 1920). Courtesy of the Conard-Harmon Collection.
St. Elizabeth's Mercy Hospital - 500 W. 20th - 1930 (Built 1920). Courtesy of the Conard-Harmon Collection.

Hutch Post, in partnership with Steve Harmon and the Conard-Harmon Collection, is proud to present Throwback Thursday. Enjoy a weekly release from Steve Harmon as he presents the "Hutch - Then & Now Collection."

STEVE HARMON
Hutch Post Contributor

Today's "Throwback Thursday Collection" takes us to the northwest corner of West 20th Avenue and North Monroe.

St. Elizabeth's Hospital was built in 1920 at a cost of $150,000 at 500 W. 20th. The 50-bed, Catholic Church-run facility with a nursing school was on the edge of town at the time.

The hospital's managing nuns lived on-site. The building was dedicated April 4, 1920. The first photo shows the original building in 1930.

St. Elizabeth's Mercy Hospital - 500 W. 20th - 1930 (Built 1920). Courtesy of the Conard-Harmon Collection.
St. Elizabeth's Mercy Hospital - 500 W. 20th - 1930 (Built 1920). Courtesy of the Conard-Harmon Collection.

With an addition added in 1932, it offered 107 beds and became known as St. Elizabeth's Mercy Hospital. The second photo shows the interior lobby about 1960.

St. Elizabeth's Mercy Hospital entry lobby - c. 1960. Courtesy of the Conard-Harmon Collection.
St. Elizabeth's Mercy Hospital entry lobby - c. 1960. Courtesy of the Conard-Harmon Collection.

In 1971, it merged with Grace Hospital to form the Hutchinson Hospital Corporation. The new, single hospital opened on Sept. 8, 1975, and the old St. Elizabeth's building was vacated and sold. The building has gone through different renovations. By 2015 it was owned by Crossroads Lumber Company and offered mixed spaces of retail and office units for rent.

Since then, it has fallen into disrepair. The third photo shows the building today at 500 W. 20th. It is owned by the Reno County Board of County Commissioners.

St. Elizabeth's old hospital building - 500 W. 20th - July 20, 2023. Courtesy of the Conard-Harmon Collection.
St. Elizabeth's old hospital building - 500 W. 20th - July 20, 2023. Courtesy of the Conard-Harmon Collection.

To purchase a print, contact: [email protected].

Throwback Thursday is brought to you by:

Gambino's Pizza
Sleep Shoppe & Furniture Gallery
Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce
STRATACA Kansas Underground Salt Museum

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