A Look Back at Moving Forward

Opened: 1938

From the moment it opened, demand for beds at Long Hospital exceeded supply, prompting long wait lists. Meanwhile, clinical services became decentralized and spread out among Long, Riley Hospital for Children, and Coleman Hospital for Women.

By the early 1930s, the school desperately needed a way to consolidate them. Federal funds from the Public Works Administration paid for the construction of the Clinical Building, a six-story structure attached to the rear of Long Hospital.

When it opened in May 1938, the facility quickly became a "nerve center" for clinical departments and housed administrative operations. Among the most important was IU's burgeoning cancer clinic, which took up an entire floor and offered radiation and X-ray treatments.

The building also housed six operating rooms, physical and occupational therapy facilities, and a transitional space for patients from Riley. Its top floor featured rooms used to house interns and residents, which continued until 1953. In 2010, it was renamed in honor of Willis D. Gatch, who was dean at the time of its construction.

Opened: April 1959

The decade after World War II saw a boom in federal funding for research at universities across the nation. The infusion coincided with a push by Dean John D. Van Nuys, MD, to burnish IU's reputation as a hub for basic science, which included a faculty recruitment drive. Expanding research, however, ran into a logistical problem: a lack of space.

In 1953, state lawmakers set aside $4.5 million for the project. As part of the deal, the School of Medicine agreed to expand enrollment to 200 students per class. Construction began in 1958, and the building was dedicated in April 1959, becoming home to the departments of pharmacology and anatomy and physiology.

Its boosters claimed the facility was the most modern structure in the country. Within two years, the School of Medicine garnered $2 million in outside grant funding, a 20-fold increase in support from the dollars it received in 1950. At the building’s dedication, Van Nuys said: "Research is as imperative to higher education as food is to life.”

Cost (2025): $7.5 million ($82.5 million)

Opened: April 1970

By 1951, clinical care bottlenecks and limited training opportunities for residents made it clear there was a need for a new university hospital.

In 1958, a committee recommended a 400-bed center to replace Long Hospital and Coleman Hospital for Women. The University's trustees soon approved a contract with an architectural firm, and school leaders selected a site just east of the Clinical Building.

However, securing funding from state legislators was challenging. An initial request, in 1959, was rejected, but two years later, lawmakers approved $4 million, half of IU’s request. Revised plans in 1962 outlined a three-phase build, with the first phase costing $12 million. Aside from state money, IU sought federal funds appropriated to modernize health facilities.

Although the school received more state money, delays occurred due to a new sales tax and negotiations with federal officials. Construction began in 1965, and the 242-bed hospital opened five years later.

Cost (2025): $16.8 million ($136.1 million)