Area 3
Area III
This group of buildings can be subdivided into three. These are the permanent and "temporary" buildings that were used by Fort Douglas mainly for medical support for the Fort and those "temporary" buildings that have been moved here by the University. The construction dates range from 1876 to 1943, with all of the permanent structures being constructed prior to WWII as part of the post's hospital complex. The "temporary" structures were built during World War II. During the war, there were a large number of hospital wards and medical barracks constructed to supplement the existing station hospital. As the number of soldiers coming through dwindled, and especially when the Ninth Corps Headquarters was returned to San Francisco in 1946, so too did the usefulness of these buildings to the fort diminish.
The University of Utah acquired these in the large acquisition of 1948 described earlier. Between 1959 and 1989, buildings 503, 504, 505, 528 and 553 were moved from the "Church Triangle" in Area II to serve the Health Sciences Center. For the most part, the buildings in this area have been used for medical support services for the Medical School and the School of Nursing, and for student housing. The acquisition of these hospital wards and Army barracks greatly eased both the housing crunch and need for research space that the University of Utah was experiencing in the 1950s. At other times, the buildings have been used as transition space for the University until permanent structures could be built.