I decided to begin sharing a tiny morsel of my obsession with abandoned places and things by using my blog to post some of my adventures amongst them, for all of my fellow explorers out there and those on the internet hungry for a good discovery or history lesson.
Place: Franklin Hospital
Location: Claremore, OK
Date opened: December 1927
Est. time abandoned: 1960's
History: "At one time, the Franklin Hospital was the largest in Rogers County. Built by Dr D.B.Collins, the hospital opened December 29th 1927. The 48,000 sq ft facility had 24 rooms with the capacity to serve 20 patients on the second floor. The ground floor was where Dr Collins and his family lived, and included guest quarters, a diet kitchen, and parlor. As a safety issue there were no open fireplaces; instead the building was heated with a steam furnace located in the basement. A long ramp to the second floor enabled patients to be wheeled up to their rooms from the ambulance on a gurney.
The Baby Boom after WWII caused Claremore to need larger medical facilities for its growing population, and construction of the Claremore Regional Hospital began. Once Claremore Regional opened for business in 1955, the Franklin hospital closed, but remained in service to Claremore residents as a nursing home until the 1960′s.
Since its closure, residents have watched the stately building at the corner of Patti Page Blvd. and Perdue slowly dissolve into ruin. Many feared it would go the way of the Armory and be demolished or made into another parking lot, and one more piece of Claremore’s history would be lost.
In early May of 2011, Karl Engel bought the old hospital with the intention of turning it into studio space for local artists to rent, with the ground floor open as an art gallery. " (Source - http://rogerscountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/historic-franklin-hospital-building-to-be-restored/)
Photo taken by: Tori Panda
I'm still searching my computer for the remaining pictures of the creepy inside, I'll post them as soon as I find them!
Place: Franklin Hospital
Location: Claremore, OK
Date opened: December 1927
Est. time abandoned: 1960's
History: "At one time, the Franklin Hospital was the largest in Rogers County. Built by Dr D.B.Collins, the hospital opened December 29th 1927. The 48,000 sq ft facility had 24 rooms with the capacity to serve 20 patients on the second floor. The ground floor was where Dr Collins and his family lived, and included guest quarters, a diet kitchen, and parlor. As a safety issue there were no open fireplaces; instead the building was heated with a steam furnace located in the basement. A long ramp to the second floor enabled patients to be wheeled up to their rooms from the ambulance on a gurney.
The Baby Boom after WWII caused Claremore to need larger medical facilities for its growing population, and construction of the Claremore Regional Hospital began. Once Claremore Regional opened for business in 1955, the Franklin hospital closed, but remained in service to Claremore residents as a nursing home until the 1960′s.
Since its closure, residents have watched the stately building at the corner of Patti Page Blvd. and Perdue slowly dissolve into ruin. Many feared it would go the way of the Armory and be demolished or made into another parking lot, and one more piece of Claremore’s history would be lost.
In early May of 2011, Karl Engel bought the old hospital with the intention of turning it into studio space for local artists to rent, with the ground floor open as an art gallery. " (Source - http://rogerscountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/historic-franklin-hospital-building-to-be-restored/)
Photo taken by: Tori Panda
I'm still searching my computer for the remaining pictures of the creepy inside, I'll post them as soon as I find them!
I was a patient in this hospital in December of 1967. It was still operating as a hospital.
ReplyDeleteI was a patient in this hospital in December of 1967. It was still operating as a hospital.
ReplyDeleteWow. Thanks for sharing, Karen! How neat!
ReplyDelete