The city of Three Rivers approved funds and bid to demolish the nearly 100-year-old structure.

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Last week, the Three Rivers City Commission approved an over $990,000 bid from Dore & Associates of Bay City and Envirologic Technologies of Kalamazoo for demolition of the old Three Rivers Hospital building overlooking Scidmore Park. The bid also includes $50,000 in contingency funds for asbestos abatement bringing the total over $1,000,000, according to Three Rivers Commercial News.

It's a move many have considered long overdue and has been debated among city residents and politicians for decades. Once the structure has been entirely removed, the land will likely be sold with many of the commissioners signaling support for apartments of some sort.

Three Rivers Hospital History

The 'old' Three Rivers Hospital was built in the 1920s. The hospital remained operating until 1987 when it was permanently shuttered after a new facility was built and opened.

The facility was actually the second hospital for the city. The original went back to 1915. The original only had a dozen beds so it didn't take long to outgrow the original facility at the large home known as the Bonnie House. You can read more about how the original hospital came to be by clicking here.

State of the Art in its day

In 1923 a fundraiser was started to build a new larger hospital, and construction was completed in May of 1925. The location on Spring Street at Scidmore Park was a beautiful setting for the 30-bed facility.

Ruin Road/YouTube
Ruin Road/YouTube
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When first established, the City of Three Rivers owned the hospital and handled the operations and budget while the hospital board took care of staffing, accreditation, and improvements. As the community grew so did the hospital with additions being added in 1950, 1955, and 1959 eventually housing 94 beds.

How the newer hospital came to be

In 1985 a groundbreaking ceremony was held at 1111 West Broadway (which has since been renamed 701 South Health Parkway) for a new $10,300,000 hospital building. First tours of the new hospital began in the summer of 1987. Many additions and improvements have been made to the newer facility.

The old hospital has been an eyesore since. Wayword youth and ne'er-do-well adults wrote graffiti, broke windows, and repeatedly broke into the quickly deteriorating structure. Rumors of the location being haunted only kept the more fearful away.

Nestled to the side of the city's Scidmore Park near the Three Rivers Police and Fire Departments, it is far from being off the beaten path. The hill that runs from the back of the building to this remains one of the best sledding hills within the city.

The old rundown hospital site is part of the reason there have been so many injuries on the sledding hill. The metal fencing along the side has caused many of injury. The large drop-off on the rear of the hospital has led to injuries from arrant sleds dropping kids onto the cement below.

What it looks like on the inside

While the outside appearance is less than appealing, you can take a peek at the inside courtesy of Ruin Road which posted a video showing the state of the interior in 2018, which has faired much worse over the years.

WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter this property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing on private property.

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