If you missed my post yesterday about the beginnings of Monsour Medical Center from yesterday be sure to take a few minutes to check it out.
It was inevitable what was to come. The hospital was in such bad shape from vandals, arsonists, and trespassers that the inside was completely trashed. Medical charts, mattresses, and other furniture littered the ground outside the tower. Even the white metal siding on the 11-story tower was beginning to fall off.
The physical damage was in addition to the fact that the inside was covered with mold, biomedical waste, and patient records. What was once a testament to the American dream had become a nightmare.
Finally, after years of legal maneuvering, Westmoreland Industrial Development Corporation in unison with the Westmoreland County Landbank were able to resolve the numerous leans on the property and prepare it for demolition.
I was at the site the days of the demolition and took various pictures as the insides of the building were gradually exposed, offering a unique glimpse into what the inside of the dilapidated hospital actually looked like.
These pictures were taken on February 22, 2016 as the demolition of the main hospital and tower began.
These pictures were taken just two days later as the tower began to fall on February 24, 2016.
What remained of the top-floor executive offices.
All the floors collapsed on themselves, but kept hanging on by the stairwells.
A lone piece of graffiti remains.
Fire doors from one of the floors can be seen.
What was once the emergency department.
The doors that once lead to the helipad now lead to nowhere.
Markers on the power lines to alert any helicopters to the presence of the lines can still be seen.
I watched demolition for several days, but I wasn’t there March 1, when the building and tower finally collapsed to just rubble. Cleanup took several months, but the land is now ready for redevelopment and Monsour Medical Center is just a memory.
Read more about the history of Monsour Medical Center’s rise and fall in my previous blog post.
