2008 Woodie Awards
Fort Whipple serves local community and Embry-Riddle
Lynda Roberts
Issue date: 2/24/06 Section: News
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Fort Whipple was established in 1864 and was originally located near present day Chino Valley. After several relocations it finally found a home at its current site along North Highway 89 in Prescott. Fort Whipple is a beautiful place consisting of various styles of period buildings, which are all painted a matching white, lending to the appeal of the station.
Built during the glory days of frontier life, the stately buildings of Fort Whipple are grand and quite striking to see bearing in mind they are still in use by hospital staff. Looking at the aged officers quarters, one can almost visualize the cavalry mounted on their ponies and marching their colors in cadence. The romance of the old west survives well in the handsome features of the military fort. Indeed, there are a number of lovely private homes on the post that were built in the bygone days that hospital personnel are presently able to rent and live in.
Whipple Barracks, as it was known then, was the headquarters of the Arizona Department during the Geronimo war and later became a depot for mustering recruits for the Spanish American War. Fort Whipple had times of prosperity and struggles and was to become many things to many people throughout the intervening the years.
The popular New York City mayor of the 1930's, Fiorello LaGuardia, was raised in Prescott where his father, Achille, was Fort Whipple's Bandleader for many years. LaGuardia has many structures named after him, including the LaGuardia Bridge next to Granite Creek Park.
The west was wide open, and heroes and villains with tales of gold and stories of frontier life ignited imaginations amid the charms of Victorian Prescott, bawdy Whiskey Row and the territorial army of Fort Whipple. The corridor of history is paved with the lives of brave and daring men and women.
Fort Whipple nearly lost its standing several times but one thing or another kept it intermittently afloat. Known for its dry climate, Arizona was a haven to persons afflicted with respiratory aliments. In 1918 Fort Whipple was established as a hospital and soon began to treat the soldiers of World War One exposed to poison gas. It eventually housed 22 new buildings and 900 sick beds. The hospital became a huge sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. Later the medical center was transferred to the United States Public Health Service and in 1931 merged into the Veterans Administration.
Built during the glory days of frontier life, the stately buildings of Fort Whipple are grand and quite striking to see bearing in mind they are still in use by hospital staff. Looking at the aged officers quarters, one can almost visualize the cavalry mounted on their ponies and marching their colors in cadence. The romance of the old west survives well in the handsome features of the military fort. Indeed, there are a number of lovely private homes on the post that were built in the bygone days that hospital personnel are presently able to rent and live in.
Whipple Barracks, as it was known then, was the headquarters of the Arizona Department during the Geronimo war and later became a depot for mustering recruits for the Spanish American War. Fort Whipple had times of prosperity and struggles and was to become many things to many people throughout the intervening the years.
The popular New York City mayor of the 1930's, Fiorello LaGuardia, was raised in Prescott where his father, Achille, was Fort Whipple's Bandleader for many years. LaGuardia has many structures named after him, including the LaGuardia Bridge next to Granite Creek Park.
The west was wide open, and heroes and villains with tales of gold and stories of frontier life ignited imaginations amid the charms of Victorian Prescott, bawdy Whiskey Row and the territorial army of Fort Whipple. The corridor of history is paved with the lives of brave and daring men and women.
Fort Whipple nearly lost its standing several times but one thing or another kept it intermittently afloat. Known for its dry climate, Arizona was a haven to persons afflicted with respiratory aliments. In 1918 Fort Whipple was established as a hospital and soon began to treat the soldiers of World War One exposed to poison gas. It eventually housed 22 new buildings and 900 sick beds. The hospital became a huge sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. Later the medical center was transferred to the United States Public Health Service and in 1931 merged into the Veterans Administration.