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| Built in 1902, the Central Kitchen
prepared food for all the patients and staff at the hospital.
Incoming materials were stored in the cold storage building, which
was located adjacent to the kitchen. The Cold storage building had
room for twenty beef carcasses, and a finished box for vegetables,
milk, and butter. An electric system of elevators made moving
materials quick and easy. Once the food was prepared, it was transported on carts through
the hospital's tunnel system
to the appropriate building where it was served to the patients. A
report in 1904 listed the large amount of food that was used at the
hospital. Some of the items on the list included 173,793 pounds of
beef, 29,109 pounds of butter, 12,162 dozen eggs, 17,159 pounds of
ham, 51 barrels of salt fish, 9,025 pounds of coffee, 1,699 barrels
of flour, and 205 gallons of oysters. A lesser amount of clams,
crabs, and lobster were also used that year, but were most likely
only served to the staff. In 1937 a new building vastly increased the size of the central kitchen. The new addition included a large modern kitchen, numerous walk-in freezers on both the main floor and in the basement, and a large dining area. A new unloading dock allowed easy unloading of the new larger trucks of the time period and a large chute allowed goods to quickly slide down to the basement where they were kept in a large storage area until needed by the kitchen staff. Patients were not charged for meals severed in the Central Kitchen. The original kitchen building was eventually turned into what became known as the "Canteen". The Canteen was a place where patients could purchase additional food and alternative meals to what the Central Kitchen was serving. As of summer 2010 the Canteen still looks much as it did then patients last used it in 2006. The food preparation equipment is still there as well as the serving areas, soda machines, and many tables and chairs. The Central Kitchen however has been striped of almost all it's equipment, and even some of the walk-in freezers, leaving it not much more than an empty shell of a building. |
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Vintage Photos & Postcards |
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Contemporary Photos |
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