This 1864 building displays both Italianate and Greek Revival architectural styles. The original structure was modified by adding wings and enclosing the porches. Constructed during the Civil War, the Post Hospital is one of the oldest standing buildings on the Presidio. It served as the first general hospital on the Presidio, Wright General Hospital. After being downgraded to a post hospital after the war in 1865, the original facility was expanded from 10 rooms, plus kitchen and dining room, to four wards, plus prisoner ward and morgue. In 1897, an octagonal surgical tower with windows on all sides was added to provide a well-lit operating room. Patients had use of a hospital library, and a vegetable garden and milk cow supplied the kitchen. After Letterman General Hospital opened in 1899, the building was used as a dentist office, post dispensary and drug rehabilitation center. It housed the Presidio Army Museum from 1974 until February 2000. Several artillery pieces and two 1906 earthquake cottages are still on display outside this historic building. |
Last updated: February 28, 2015