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A Healthy Recovery

Reedsburg Municipal Hospital, Reedsburg, Wisconsin


The vacant Reedsburg
Municipal Hospital before
rehabilitation
The Reedsburg Municipal Hospital was built in 1932 in a residential neighborhood that would later become the Park Street Historic District. Madison architect, Frank Moulton, used period revival details on the central polygonal entry pavilion. These historical references help the hospital fit more comfortably among the neighboring houses.

The building served the community’s health needs until its closing in 1995. When a proposal to demolish it was made public, many local residents came forward and spoke against the plan. They talked of having been born in the building, of visiting ailing relatives and watching them either recover or spend their final days at the hospital. Clearly the community had an emotional connection with the historic building and many residents took its potential loss personally.


After rehabilitation and
conversion to Park Street
Senior Homes
The empty building and Reedsburg’s need for senior housing came together when a developer, Progressive Designs, purchased the building with the intention of converting it to affordable independent-living senior housing. The firm partnered with Heartland Properties, with additional financial support coming from the City of Reedsburg and John Deere Financial Services. The project also qualified for affordable housing tax credits, a program administered by the Wisconsin Housing and Development Authority, and the preservation tax credit, which is administered by the Wisconsin Historical Society and the National Park Service.


Newly cleaned stone pilasters,
cornice, doorway architrave and
window keystones at the
building's entry pavilion
The developers preserved the distinctive octagonal entry lobby, one of the few original interior features remaining after remodelings that occurred in 1953, 1964 and 1976. They converted the hospital rooms and offices into apartments, cleaned the masonry with a mild detergent and replaced deteriorated windows. Some of the windows had already been inappropriately replaced with glass block, and the new windows closely match the appearance of the original. A garage addition was placed unobtrusively at the basement level on an already altered side elevation.

“Park Street Senior Homes” now offer 24 unique apartments for people age 55 or older. In addition the building also is home to the Reedsburg Food Pantry. The old hospital has made a remarkable recovery and the prognosis is for a long and useful life.


 
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