The Story
Authorized by Congress in 1902 and opened in 1907, the Battle Mountain Sanitarium treated veterans — especially those with rheumatism and tuberculosis — whose conditions doctors believed the hot springs could help. Omaha architect Thomas Rogers Kimball designed the complex in Mission Revival/Richardsonian Romanesque style from local pink sandstone, with a circular central building and wings radiating like spokes, on grounds landscaped by George Kessler. It became part of the VA system and continues as a VA medical center today; it was named a National Historic Landmark District in 2011.
Surprising Facts
→ Veterans were sent here specifically to bathe in and drink the mineral water as treatment.
→ The main building was designed with a circular center and wings radiating outward like wheel spokes.
→ It was named a National Historic Landmark District in 2011, over a century after opening.