Campus History

December 6, 2020 — 15 Work Days Until December 23

December 6, 2020 — 15 Work Days Until December 23
This past weekend, I thought of my friend Carrol S. Small, MD, and his reflective self-portrait. Dr. Small was a 1934 School of Medicine graduate from the College of Medical Evangelists–now Loma Linda University. After mission service in India, Dr. Small returned to his alma mater, where he served as a respected and beloved Professor of Pathology. Dr. Small was also a gifted writer and editor, and he served two terms as editor of the School of Medicine Alumni JOURNAL. His first stint was from 1976 to 1982, and then, Dr. Small again wielded the editor’s pen from 1988 to 1990. Sometime during his second tenure as editor, Dr. Small took the selfie image (left) as he stood at the entrance to the Alumni Association, School of Medicine of Loma Linda University. The black and white photo became a two-page spread in the November – December 1997 Alumni JOURNAL, which memorialized his legacy and his recent passing. As managing editor of the JOURNAL, I was honored to have had an editorial hand in that feature. Dr. Carrol S. Small was born on September 16, 1910, and Passed away in Loma Linda, California, on August 23, 1997. 

On December 7, 2020, to honor Dr. Small’s memory, I stood on the pavers just as he had done some thirty years ago and took a selfie in my required personal protection equipment (PPE). Today, the background is different. Gone are the palm trees and the tree-lined median leading into the medical center’s main entrance and parking lots. All semblance of the former landscaped grounds is no longer in existence, and even taller glass skyscrapers shield the iconic clover-leaf towers. As I stood there looking at the new hospitals reflected in the glass, I wondered what my friend would think of the new structures across the street. I have a hunch he would approve.

Eighteen Memorable Construction Phases in Photos

The Main Entrance to Loma Linda University Medical Center circa fall of 2015. Make ready is underway near the roundabout, which had been fenced off. Note the artist rendering just to the right of the vertical monument sign.
This photo was taken on the day that the Main Entrance to the Medical was closed to traffic.
Within days after the Main Entrance to the Medical Center was closed, heavy equipment began removing the asphalt from the parking lots.
On Sunday, May 22, 2016, the ribbon cutting was held under azure skies.
By August 9, 2016, the outline of the pit was clearly visable.
The pit has reached grade.
Those who passed the former entrance to the Medical Center wondered what was going on down in the pit.
On Saturday night, April 29, 2017, the second section of the foundation floor was poured.
An aerial view of the site. At this phase rebar is being installed over the foundation floor.
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Dennis E. Park, MA
After graduate school Dennis accepted a position at Loma Linda University. He worked there for 42 years in the areas of administration and financial management, also teaching accounting and management to dietetic students at the School of Public Health. Through the years Dennis has chronicled the growth of the campus, including the construction of the Drayson Center and the Centennial Complex and the razing of Gentry Gym. He is the author of "The Mound City Chronicles: A Pictorial History of Loma Linda University, A Health Sciences Institution 1905 - 2005." dEp 09.30.2016 🔨

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