Saint John General Hospital

Saint John General Hospital
Saint John General Hospital in 1995
Map
Geography
LocationSaint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Coordinates45°16′51″N 66°03′19″W / 45.280969°N 66.055394°W / 45.280969; -66.055394 (approximate)
History
OpenedNovember 1931
ClosedOctober 31, 1982
DemolishedDecember 10, 1995
Links
ListsHospitals in Canada

The Saint John General Hospital was a public hospital in Saint John, New Brunswick.[1]

The hospital was completed in November 1931 and cost $1.6 million to construct.[2] Built on a hill near the center of the city, the 12-storey building, topped with a gleaming metal dome, was a prominent landmark in Saint John's skyline.[2][3]

The hospital boasted state-of-the-art facilities for its time: in 1932 its new cancer clinic was treating patients with radiation therapy, in 1952 it introduced a neurosurgery department, and in the 1960s it became the first hospital in the region to offer renal dialysis.[2]

The hospital also housed the Bureau of Laboratories that would later become the Provincial Laboratory Service.[4]

The building was expanded in 1959 with the addition of a new wing, but by the late 1970s the facility was dated and many services formerly provided at the General Hospital had moved to newer hospitals.[2] On October 31, 1982, the last patients were moved to other facilities and the hospital officially closed.[2] It remained empty and condemned until December 10, 1995, when the building was demolished by a controlled implosion.[3]

The dome of the former Saint John General Hospital

The hospital's dome survived the demolition intact and was pulled from the rubble. It now forms the roof of a gazebo in a small Saint John park, located near Garden Street.[5]

  1. ^ Wong, Mike (Fall 2018). "Sans peur et sans reproche: A history of the General Public Hospital in Saint John". Dalhousie Medical Journal. 45 (1): 26–31. doi:10.15273/dmj.Vol45No1.8793. S2CID 171457419.
  2. ^ a b c d e Wong, Mike (Fall 2018). "Sans peur et sans reproche: A history of the General Public Hospital in Saint John". Dalhousie Medical Journal. 45 (1): 26–31. doi:10.15273/dmj.Vol45No1.8793. S2CID 171457419.
  3. ^ a b "News reports". CTV, ATV and CBC. December 1995. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  4. ^ Bird, H. A.; Melanson, J. A. (1960). "The Provincial Laboratory Services in New Brunswick". Canadian Journal of Public Health. 51 (9): 353–358. ISSN 0008-4263. JSTOR 41980925. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  5. ^ "New home for old dome". CBC News. 9 June 2000. Retrieved 29 March 2014.