The Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Administration Hospital is a second-generation Veterans Health Administration hospital in Hines, Illinois, United States. It currently encompasses on its campus and leases an additional to the Loyola University Medical Center.
Construction began in 1918 on land donated by the Edward Hines Lumber Company that was originally Speedway Park, a board track racecourse. The building was originally intended to house casualties from World War I, and Hines wanted the building to serve as a hospital after the war. Hines was successful in lobbying the United States Congress to take over the facility as a veterans hospital in 1920. In 2013, of the campus, including the Old Airmail and Postal Service Buildings from the Maywood Air Mail Field, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district.
History
Speedway Park and early developments
The history of the property in Hines, Illinois began in 1835, when the land was sold to Frederick Bronson by the United States government. The land was used for farming until 1914, when the Speedway Park Association purchased the lot to develop a race track. The organization built a oval wooden track on the land and held races starting in June 1915. The track was one of the longest board tracks in the United States. The course was host to a number of national and international racing competitions featuring competitors such as Barney Oldfield, Ralph DePalma, Louis Chevrolet, and Dario Resta. The track was initially very successful, attracting as many as 45,000 spectators. However, the entry of the United States into World War I in April 1917 doomed the financial viability of the racetrack. It was one of the first board tracks to close; most board tracks in the United States were closed by the end of the 1930s.
Early history
The course was purchased in December 1917 by the Edward Hines Lumber Company on behalf of Edward Hines Sr. Once the United States entered World War I, the City of Chicago sought a site for a temporary military hospital. Edward Hines Jr. was killed on the front lines in France in the opening months of American involvement in the war. In his memory, Hines Sr. offered to donate his new property as a potential site of the Chicago facility; it was selected in September 1918. The Field Museum of Natural History was also considered as a location for the facility. However, it was feared that the conversion of the museum to a medical facility would prove too costly. The fact that Hines' hospital was built to be a hospital also played in his favor. Hines intended to build a fireproof building that could house casualties during the war and then operate as a public hospital after the war. Schmidt, Garden and Martin and H. B. Wheelock were awarded the commission to design the facility, and the Shank Company was tasked with its construction.
When World War I ended in November 1918, the agreement with Hines was terminated as there was no longer a need to house casualties. The hospital stood partially constructed for the next two years as Hines led an effort to lobby Congress to have the building taken over by the United States Public Health Service. Secretary of the Treasury Carter Glass disapproved of the plan because no official contract was signed between Hines and the federal government. However, an investigation by the United States Department of War found sufficient evidence of a verbal agreement between the two parties. With help from Congressmen Adolph J. Sabath, James Robert Mann, Martin B. Madden, and Carl R. Chindblom, a Senate vote on the matter passed 33 to 27. $3.4 million was appropriated to the project under the condition that Hines provided an additional $1.6 million. The transfer was approved in March 1920 and construction began again.
The campus was originally known as U.S. Public Health Service Hospital Number 76, and was popularly referred to as Speedway Hospital or Broadview Hospital. In honor of his contribution to see the facility completed, on October 24, 1921, President Warren G. Harding declared that the facility was to be renamed to honor Hines' son. It was the first American veterans hospital to be named after a person. The first patient was admitted on August 8, 1921. A dedication ceremony was held on November 6, 1921 led by Marshal of France Ferdinand Foch and Senator Medill McCormick.