1550 N. 115th Street
Seattle, WA 98133-9733
206-364-0500
www.nwhospital.org

In the late 1940s, Seattle was desperately short on hospital beds. Also, seven of the eight general hospitals in Seattle were downtown, and in a major emergency the bridges linking the north and south ends of town could be destroyed leaving it virtually impossible to reach one of these facilities. Worse yet, in an atomic attack, which was greatly feared at that time, all hospitals could be destroyed at once. At the recommendation of state health planners and the Atomic Energy Commission, plans were made to build new hospitals in the suburbs where people were living. The goal for Northwest Hospital was to create a very warm and comfortable environment with a lovely view for each patient. On July 6, 1959 construction of the hospital begun and on September 22, 1960 the new hospital opened.