The Roosevelt American Legion Hospital sits nearly forgotten and crumbling on Evergreen Road in the Battle Creek suburb of Springfield. Now the building which was last used as a nursing home is meeting the wrecking ball.

The building dates back to World War I and was used as a facility to treat TB. According to the historical records at Willard Library in Battle Creek,

Originally constructed as the Roosevelt Community Center, part of Camp Custer in 1917, the facility was turned over to the American Legion in 1921 and became the "Roosevelt American Legion Hospital," operating first as a tuberculosis hospital and then as a general hospital. Finally in 1963 it began to specialize in long-term rehabilitation and became the Southwestern Michigan Rehabilitation Hospital until it moved in 1972 to downtown Battle Creek.

The story of the 'forgotten solider' as the hospital became was shared in the March 24, 2016 edition of the Battle Creek Shopper News which covered the building's history and transition to retirement home. It closed as Legion Villa in 2014 and slated for destruction soon afterword. The work on bringing down the American Legion Hospital in Battle Creek is continuing into the spring of 2016.

The American Legion Hospital Then

In this undated photo from the digital archives of the Willard Library in Battle Creek, here is what the facility once looked like.

American Legion Hospital Battle Creek
Willard Library Digital Collections
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