Linda Vista Community Hospital

Former hospital in Los Angeles, California, United States

Linda Vista Community Hospital is a former hospital located at 610 30 South St. Louis Street in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the Boyle Heights neighborhood. The hospital was originally constructed for employees of the Santa Fe Railroad and called the Santa Fe Coast Lines Hospital. It was one of four employee hospitals run by the railroad Santa Fe Employees Hospital Association. The hospital closed in 1991. After its closure, the hospital became a popular filming location for productions, including films, TV shows, and music videos. It has also become the subject of several paranormal investigations. The hospital was sold in 2011 and converted into a low income senior living facility called Hollenbeck Terrace.

The original building that housed the hospital opened in the fall of 1905 to serve employees of the Santa Fe Railroad. It had its own Jersey cows, chickens, and a garden to provide patients with the freshest milk, butter, eggs, poultry and vegetables. This original Moorish style hospital building was designed by Charles Whittlesey and known as the Santa Fe Coast Lines Hospital. The hospital was so successful that it began expanding and the location, overlooking Hollenbeck Park was transformed into a campus. The original 1905 building was replaced in 1938 with the current Mission Revival Style structure, designed by architect H. L. Gilman. In 1985 it became the Linda Vista Community Hospital.

By the late 1970s, the railroad hospital association facilities were experiencing declining use, as more railroad workers began to use conventional medical insurance policies. The area surrounding the hospital also became a less affluent area, severely affecting the hospital financially. The Santa Fe Railroad sold the 150 bed hospital to American Healthcare Management in 1980. According to a California Health Law News report, Linda Vista was forced to reduce operational expenses in the form of limiting whole services and as a result saw much blame for mistreatment of patients and a noticeable decline in quality. As the hospital cut operational costs, more hospital staff and patients began transferring out to more affluent hospitals in the area as a result. During the 1970s and 1980s, the hospital spent most of the time treating victims of gang related violence in the nearby area as crime had risen dramatically around Boyle Heights. Making matters worse for the hospital, a majority of the victims were either underinsured or uninsured, contributing to financial difficulties. Following public criticism noted in an LA times article in 1988, system mismanagement eventually forced the hospital to close its emergency services department in 1989. The quality of care at Linda Vista Community Hospital continued to decline as doctors and nurses moved to other hospitals. In 1991, the hospital ceased operations.

In the decades following its closure, it was used primarily as a filming location. In January 2006, the hospital was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2011, the 4.2 acre Linda Vista Hospital complex was purchased by AMCAL Multi Housing Inc. The building remains on the historic registry, the main hospital and former nurses dormitory, were renovated into Hollenbeck Terrace in 2015; and now the complex provides a total of 97 apartments for fixed income seniors plus a medical facility.