Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium

Much of what used to be the expansive Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Chicago is now a series of retirement communities, a school for the developmentally disabled, a large park, and a nature center.  But there are still a few relics from darker days, when this complex was home to thousands of tuberculosis patients, many of whom were admitted, only to live the rest if their miserable lives there and die without ever stepping foot out of the iron fence.  From 1915 to 1974, this property served tuberculosis patients, and often provided experimental procedures for its patients.  The property has since been largely revamped.  Most of the smaller buildings have been demolished, replaced with green lawns.  Roads have been rerouted, and parking lots added and enlarged.  Most of the larger, more impressive buildings remain, as well as a few dark corners which hide dark secrets of the dreaded sanitarium.

An early photo of the former entrance to the sanitarium:

Pass the maintenance garages and stroll through the forgotten wooded areas.