American Sanatoriums: Landscaping for Health, 1885-1945

Abstract

As the principles of bacteriology became known and the epidemiology of tuberculosis understood in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the design of outdoor spaces at American sanatoriums changed to facilitate the treatment of tuberculosis. Using plans, photographs, and woodcuts, the evolution of five aspects of landscape design and planning at American sanatoriums is examined: location; siting and orientation of buildings; building layout and density; organization of paths and roads; and garden and farm arrangements. Innovations in the landscaping of facilities for tuberculosis patients are still in use in American hospital design today. These include fresh air porches, grounds which provide paths of increasing cardiovascular stimulation, and gardens to simulate a homelike setting.