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Brackenridge Hospital
Brackenridge Hospital tower in the process of demolition in 2020
Geography
Location	Austin, Texas, United States
Coordinates	30°16′26″N 97°44′02″W / 30.274°N 97.734°W / 30.274; -97.734
Organization
Funding	Non-profit hospital
Type	General
Network	Ascension
Services
Emergency department	Level I trauma center
History
Former name(s)	City–County Hospital; University Medical Center Brackenridge
Opened	July 3, 1884 (1884-July-03)
Closed	May 21, 2017 (2017-May-21)
Links
Lists	Hospitals in Texas

Brackenridge Hospital, also known as University Medical Center Brackenridge, (UMC Brackenridge) was the public hospital of Austin, Texas. It had the nickname "Brack".

History

On July 3, 1884, the City-County Hospital, which had two stories, was established on a block in what was then northeast Austin. That block had been, in the 1839 Waller Plan, designated to house a hospital. The cost of the initial building was $10,000. It became solely owned by the City of Austin when Travis County ended its share of the ownership in 1907. A 45-bed replacement building opened in 1915. In 1929 the Austin City Council renamed the hospital after hospital board chairperson Robert J. Brackenridge. In 1969, a replacement building opened, with a price tag of $43 million. It eventually housed 363 beds, as the final phase opened in 1984.

In 1995 the city began contracting the operation of the hospital to Seton Healthcare Family. In 2004 the city sold the hospital to Central Health.

The hospital closed on May 21, 2017, as it was replaced by the Dell Seton Medical Center.

Brackenridge's demolition began in August 2017. The tower's demolition originally was to begin in 2018, but as the Austin city government took time to issue a permit for that, its demolition began in summer 2019. Demolition ended in 2021. An office building is to be built on the former site. Central Health planned to use the money gained from selling the land to fund healthcare services.

While it was vacant, the hospital was used as a filming location for the television show Fear the Walking Dead.

References

1. ^ Norwood, Kalyn; Lee, Jenni (2019-05-15). "Saying goodbye to Brackenridge Hospital in Austin after more than 100 years". KVUE. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
2. ^ "Austin bids farewell to Brackenridge Hospital after 133 years". Austin American-Statesman. 2017-05-19. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
3. ^ "Brackenridge Hospital". Handbook of Texas. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
4. Roser, Mary Ann (2013-05-13). "Officials to unveil details on private ownership of Austin's public hospital". Austin American Statesman. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
5. ^ Bailey, Todd; Goard, Alyssa (2019-05-15). "What's next for the former Brackenridge Hospital?". KXAN. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
6. ^ Hamdan, Nadia (2019-08-08). "Demolition Of Brackenridge Starts This Month, Paving The Way For 17-Story Office Building". KUT. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
7. Norwood, Kayln (2020-03-17). "Demolition of beloved UMC Brackenridge Tower begins". KVUE. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
8. "End of an era: Brackenridge hospital coming down". Austin Business Journal. 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
9. Karacostas, Chase (June 21, 2018). "Fear the Walking Dead filmed at these Austin-area locations". San Antonio Express-News. Archived from the original on August 6, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2018.

Further reading

• Bueche, Shelley (2020-04-23). "Unwrap the legendary history of Austin's first hospital and past pandemics". Culturemap Austin.

Videos

• "Drone video of the former Brackenridge Hospital". KVUE. 2019-05-15.
• "Brackenridge tower in Austin is coming down". KVUE. 2020-03-17.

External links

• Brackenridge Hospital at the Wayback Machine (archive index)

• Hospitals in Austin, Texas
• Municipal hospitals
• Level 1 trauma centers
• Defunct hospitals in Texas
• Hospitals established in 1884
• Hospitals disestablished in 2017
• 1884 establishments in Texas
• 2017 disestablishments in Texas
• Public hospitals in the United States
• Demolished buildings and structures in Texas
• Buildings and structures demolished in 2019