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[photo]
View of the Biltmore Hospital wing

Photograph courtesy City Development, City of Asheville, North Carolina

Shortly after All Soul's Parish was established in 1896, George W. Vanderbilt gave the land and contributed handsomely to the endowment of the Clarence Barker Memorial Hospital, incorporated on June 13, 1900. The hospital was designed by Richard Sharp Smith, architect of most of the buildings in Biltmore Village, at a cost of $75,000. The one-and-one-half story stucco building with casement windows, molded details, shingles and dormers was built as a memorial to a cousin of Vanderbilt's and as a mission of the church. Vanderbilt took the responsibility of all costs and expenses incurred in construction and maintenance. Originally built for minor care for 10 patients, it was soon enlarged in 1902 by architect W. H. Lord with the addition of a ward and operating rooms. One former resident of the Biltmore Village recalled that it was "light and airy, and the beds were not too close together." Another wing designed by Lord was added in 1916 raising the bed capacity to 50. In 1919, the hospital received its independence from church jurisdiction and its name became Biltmore Hospital. A devastating fire in 1921 destroyed the main portion of the hospital leaving only the wings.

A major change in Biltmore Village came with the construction of a large new hospital adjacent to the remaining wings. Begun in September 1929, the new hospital was designed by Douglas Ellington, an important Asheville architect who created a number of the city's notable Art-Deco landmarks including City Hall, First Baptist Church and S&W Cafeteria. When the second building was constructed, the original hospital wing, which had previously served as the obsetrics and gynecological ward was used as the nurse's dormitory and later a nursing school. In 1947 the hospital merged with Asheville's Mission Hospital, and finally closed its doors in 1951. The Clarence Barker Memorial Hospital has since housed offices and a series of nursing homes. Current plans call for the building to be converted into condominiums.

The Clarence Barker Memorial Hospital is located on an extension of Angle St., within the Biltmore Village Multiple Resource Area. The building is closed to the public.

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