Designing Dix Hospital: Past, Present & Future

Follow the journey of Dix Park’s McBryde building, the first hospital in North Carolina, in a lecture looking at the architectural plans, proposals, and structures of the medical compound. See how the earliest sketch in 1848 was designed and constructed into the main building, opened in 1856. Understand how changing medical practices informed the improvement and expansion of the structure and site for over 150 years. And compare the McBryde Building’s uncertain future to how other state hospitals around the country have repurposed their space in the 2000s.

The talk will be given by Bryan Rusch, a Ph.D. Candidate in Art History, whose research focuses on the design and social history of medicine in North Carolina.