Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center and OHSU/PVAMC skybridge

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

OHSU is connected to the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (PVAMC) by a 660-foot-long pedestrian sky bridge, which was dedicated in 1992 and opened in 1993. The original veterans hospital on Marquam Hill was dedicated in 1929. Besides connecting the PVAMC to the OHSU Hospital physically, the structure symbolizes the integration of academic, research and clinical work between the two institutions.

Images

Architectural rendering of original design of veterans hospital, undated.

Black and white drawing depicts a large neoclassical building surrounded by three smaller attached buildings, against a background of forested hills dotted with trees and homes. Around the bend of the hill in the upper right is visible campus identified as "University of Oregon Medical School."

Aerial view of the Portland VA Medical Center under construction, circa 1980s.

Color photograph of an aerial view of a number of large, 1980s modern hospital buildings under construction against the background of forested canyon and other campus buildings.

Aerial view of Marquam Hill campus, depicting OHSU/PVAMC sky bridge under construction in foreground, circa 1991.

Black and white photograph of Marquam Hill Campus taken from near or above the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), centered on the skybridge connecting VAMC and University Hospital South. Looking northwest.

OHSU/PVAMC sky bridge after dark, circa 1990s.

Black and white photograph of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center skybridge and support connecting to the University Hospital South above Campus Drive after dark.

Senator Mark Hatfield, PVAMC Director Barry L. Bell, OHSU President Peter Kohler, and School of Medicine Dean John Kendall view an architectural model of the OHSU/PVAMC sky bridge, circa 1990.

Four men in suits smile while looking at an architectural model depicting two hospitals connected by a pedestrian bridge.

Dedication ceremony for the OHSU/PVAMC sky bridge, 1992. Standing in foreground from center: Senator Mark Hatfield, OHSU President Peter Kohler, PVAMC Director Barry L. Bell, and School of Medicine Dean John Kendall.

A crowd of onlookers watch as four standing people and two people using wheelchairs use large novelty scissors to cut a ribbon on the glass and metal pedestrian sky bridge.

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

In 1926, the family of prominent Portland newspaper publisher Sam Jackson deeded 25 acres of land on Marquam Hill to the Veterans Bureau for the construction of a veterans hospital. Construction began in 1927, and the hospital was formally dedicated in 1929. A new hospital building was dedicated in 1987, along with an adjacent administration and research building. The only remaining building from the original Veterans Hospital campus is Building #16, which was constructed in 1932. The cornerstone of Building #1, constructed in 1928, remains on display outside the VA auditorium in the main hospital building.

Partners since 1948, OHSU and the PVAMC collaborate in many areas of education, patient care and research. During the 1960s the affiliation grew more significant, as medical student clerks and residents undertook about half of their clinical training there under School of Medicine-appointed VA hospital staff. Federal funding supported residents and specialty fellows, including a shared internship in internal medicine established in 1966.

For many years, former OHSU School of Medicine Dean John Kendall dreamed of a bridge spanning the 150-foot-deep ravine that separated the two institutions. Kendall and former PVAMC Director Joe Ferry believed that the link would enhance efficiency and collaboration. Ferry authored the first request to Washington, D.C. for the building of such a bridge. In 1992, the two hospitals at last became physically joined with the completion of the 660-foot pedestrian sky bridge, a tangible symbol of the long-term partnership between the PVAMC and the medical school. Federal funding secured by Senator Mark Hatfield assured the completion of the bridge.

The dedication ceremony for the sky bridge was held on November 2, 1992. Speakers included OHSU President Peter Kohler, PVAMC Director Barry L. Bell, Senator Mark Hatfield, and School of Medicine Dean John Kendall.

Sources

Subject file: Skybridge OHSU-VAMC. Historical Collections & Archives, OHSU Library.

Subject file: Veterans Affairs/Veterans Administration. Historical Collections & Archives, OHSU Library.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. "About the VA Portland Health Care System." https://www.portland.va.gov/about/index.asp

Image Sources(Click to expand)

OHSU Digital Collections, https://doi.org/10.6083/M44M9355

OHSU Digital Collections, https://doi.org/10.6083/M4S46QJG

OHSU Digital Collections, https://doi.org/10.6083/M4HQ3XJ6

OHSU Digital Collections, https://doi.org/10.6083/M4NC5ZTR

Historical Image Collection: OHSU/VA Sky Bridge. Historical Collections & Archives, OHSU Library.