“Consumption,” they called it. Once named the “white plague.” Glenn Dale Hospital was born from the shadow of tuberculosis. At the start of the twentieth century, tuberculosis caused nearly ten percent of deaths in the United States.
Here, fifteen miles outside of Washington D.C., stands Glenn Dale Tuberculosis Hospital. Imagine it as a sanctuary. Fresh air was thought to heal. The hospital provided modern treatments. It opened in 1934 during the Great Depression. A tuberculosis epidemic swept through Washington D.C. Hospitals overflowed. Glenn Dale offered a dedicated space to halt the disease’s spread.
The first tuberculosis sanatorium opened in 1886 in New York. Fresh air and sunshine were key. Patients needed bed rest, good food, and supervision. Glenn Dale Tuberculosis Hospital followed these ideas. It eventually housed 700 patients and a similar number of staff. The complex included 17 Colonial Revival buildings. They arose between 1933 and 1959. Red brick and concrete defined these structures. A doctor’s house tragically burned down in 2005.
Key architects included Albert L. Harris. Lawrence Johnston, Nathan C. Wyeth, and Charles B. McGrew also contributed. All worked for the Office of the Municipal Architect. Imagine patients on rooftop gardens. They tended these gardens to soak up sunlight. Underground tunnels connected buildings. They offered passage during bad weather. The sprawling campus covered 216 acres. Open lawns separated the buildings.
Treatments evolved over time. Doctors discovered antibiotics in the 1940s. These proved more effective. By the 1950s, fewer patients needed Glenn Dale. The hospital became a nursing home in 1960. It cared for indigent patients. High asbestos levels and upkeep costs forced its closure in 1982. Glenn Dale has remained vacant since.
The Prince George’s County Historical Society held a public event here. The National Register of Historic Places recognized the hospital campus. The Glenn Dale Hospital site is listed on the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties.
Despite its abandonment, Glenn Dale attracts attention. Graffiti artists and ghost hunters explore its ruins. Local teenagers also visit, drawn by urban legends. Some believe it was once a prison or an insane asylum. Police patrol the grounds to deter trespassers. SaveGlennDaleHospital.org is a group of concerned citizens. They want to save the hospital from demolition. They support its adaptive reuse.
Today, consider its legacy. Glenn Dale Tuberculosis Hospital represents a fight against disease. It shows how medical understanding and treatments changed. Though vacant, its history endures.