Los Angeles County General Hospital, 1933

Under construction.  The hospital opened in 1933.  Following the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, the state of California found the hospital out of compliance and shut it down, and it didn't reopen until 2010.

1930, Aerial view of East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights neighborhoods revealing the construction site of the Los Angeles County General Hospital (at center).

In 1930, the cornerstone for the current Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center was laid and the hospital was completed in 1933.  The building was designed by architects Edward Bergstrom, Myron Hunt, Pierpont Davis, Summer P. Hunt, and William Richards.

1931, Close-up view showing the Los Angeles County General Hospital under construction on State Street in East Los Angeles.

The original county hospital was built in 1878 and became affiliated with the University of Southern California School of Medicine in 1885.  It then consisted of 100 beds, 47 patients, 6 staff members, and a $4,000 budget.  

1932, Aerial view of East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights neighborhoods revealing the Art Deco Los Angeles County General Hospital (center), surrounded by a multitude of residential dwellings.  June 15, 1932.

1933, Aerial postcard view of the art deco style Los Angeles County General Hospital and grounds.  Various residential neighborhoods surround the hospital on all sides.  

1932, Opening ceremonies in front of the newly built Art Deco style Los Angeles County General Hospital located at 1200 North State Street in East Los Angeles

The twenty-story central concrete and steel unit of the hospital has remained as the landmark in Northeastern Los Angeles. Its basic form is PWA monumental Moderne -- with more than a slight hint of the influence of Bertram G. Goodhue. Its design is sculptural volumes and heavy arches evoking early Romanesque.

1931, View showing the newly-constructed Los Angeles County Hospital.  Photo by Dick Whittington.  

1930s, Ground view showing the profile of the beautiful Los Angeles County Hospital with palm trees seen at right. 

Beginning in 1975, the ABC soap opera General Hospital began using the facility for its exterior shots, appearing primarily in the show's opening sequence, where it still remains. The lower floors of the show's Los Angeles studio are modeled after the actual hospital's emergency room entrance, allowing for the show to shoot outdoor scenes in their own parking lot.

In 1995, the hospital had more square feet than the Pentagon, 9,000 employees, and an annual budget of $803 million.

HOSPITAL'S OPERATING THEATER

1933, Los Angeles General Hospital's soaring, sunlit operating theater and its towering bank of windows, were ready to play host to scenes of medical drama and scientific progress.

GENERAL HOSPITAL LOBBY

1940, View looking up at the tridomed murals in the main entrance to the General Hospital.  The portrait in the right, upper center is that of Hippocrates, the Greek physician so revered by the medical profession. UCLA Digital Archive.

1963, Exterior view of Los Angeles County General Hospital on March 14, 1963.  

ART ON THE GROUNDS

2017, Ornate street lamps in front of L.A. County General Hospital.  Note the high-relief sculptures on the front of the face of the building  Click here to see more Early LA Streetlights.  Photo is courtesy of Edward Grad.