National Library of Medicine
Historic Medical Sites in the Washington, DC Area
CELEBRATING THE BICENTENNIAL OF THE NATION'S CAPITAL

5
Old Naval Hospital
Building

921 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
Washington, DC
Old Naval Hospital
Old Naval Hospital on Capital Hill

This large brick building on Capitol Hill served as the Naval Hospital from 1866 to 1906. It sits on a triangular lot, between 9th and 10th Streets, defined by Pennsylvania Avenue on the north. The building faces south, with an entrance on E Street, and is within the vicinity of the current Marine Barracks and the Navy Yard. Prior to the construction of this building, the Navy had used as hospital a rented building near the Navy Yard (1811-1843); a facility within the confines of the Marine Barracks until the Civil War; and a portion of the Government Hospital for the Insane (St. Elizabeths Hospital) during the War. Designed to accommodate 50 patients, the new hospital had good ventilation and running water supplied by the city, and was furnished with gas for lighting. After serving the naval personnel for four decades, the hospital moved to its newly constructed facility at Observatory Hill, 23rd and E Streets, NW, (now headquarters of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery). In 1922, the building became the Temporary Home for Veterans of All Wars. The property is still owned by the federal government but its jurisdiction was transferred to the District of Columbia in 1962. Currently, the building is vacant and in need of serious restoration. Thanks to the efforts of the Friends of the Old Naval Hospital and other concerned residents, the DC government's Office of Property Management is moving ahead with plans to restore the building. If approved by the city, the 140-year old structure may become the Hill Center, a facility for education and community life on Capitol Hill.

See: #5 on Area Map.

Nearest Metro Station: 'Eastern Market' on Blue and Orange Lines.

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Last updated: 21 September 2006