DC General's long history
The D.C. General Hospital is on a list of the 15 eeriest abandoned buildings in the US. This location is only 16 miles and 18 minutes away from Springfield, Virginia which means some in the Commonwealth can get there quicker than those living in the nation's capital.
There are conflicting reports related to whether this building has been demolished and if so should no longer be on the list as abandoned. This building was first used in 1806 as an infirmary where the poor, disabled, and infirmed in the city were cared for.
The name was changed to the Washington Asslyum because the location was also a poorhouse and a workhouse. In 1846 the facility found a new home that was larger where it would permanently remain.
Changes come for the hospital
The city constructed a new healthcare facility, and the name was changed to Gallinger Municipal Hospital, in 1922. In 1953 it was renamed District of Columbia General Hospital. The hospital closed in 2001, and under the name D.C. General became a shelter for homeless families with a capacity of 270.
In 2014, 8-year-old Relisha Rudd was staying in the facility with her family when she went missing. She was seen a few days prior to her disappearance with a janitor who worked at the shelter who later killed his wife and a few days after, himself. Sadly Rudd has never been found.
Is the building abandoned or demolished?
In 2016, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a plan to replace the D.C. General shelter with six smaller facilities located around the city while transitioning families to subsidized housing. D.C. General was officially closed by Mayor Bowser on October 30, 2018. Reservation 13, the area encompassing the hospital site, was offered as part of Washington's bid to host Amazon HQ2.
As of this writing Amazon H2Q opened it's headquarters instead in the Crystal City area of Arlington Virginia and the former DC General building is still considered abandoned. There are reports online that it was going to be demolished for the 6 smaller buildings but nothing to confirm it ever took place.
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