Fort Howard VA Hospital

Fort Howard VA Hospital History

Fort Howard is a point of land extending into Baltimore harbor, which had been a key military target as early as 1814 when British troops landed in an attempt to capture and burn Baltimore city. Concrete batteries were constructed at the military reservation in 1902, and the land was used as an active army post until 1940. During this year, about 80 buildings were removed to make way for a new five-story VA hospital. The Fort Howard VA Medical Center opened in 1943 with 377 beds, and also encompassed a nurse's home, infirmary, and attendants quarters, which were renovated from existing army buildings.

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs made a decision to move services from Fort Howard to the Loch Raven VA Community Living and Rehabilitation Center and the Perry Point VA Medical Center, to address structural deficiencies inside the main hospital building. Patients were moved to the surrounding facilities and by September 2002, the hospital was shuttered. Plans to re-use the vacant land into a retirement community and assisted living have floundered; currently, a small outpatient clinic still functions on the hospital campus.