Four Years of Progress as Depicted in Six Images

Looking to the future, four years seems like a long time. Back on April 12, 2015, when the gates to the chain-link fence closed off the Anderson Steet Medical Center Drive, no one knew what to expect. All we had to go on was an artist rendering of the proposed hospital. For approximately a half century the cloverleaf towers were the iconic towers of healing that we thought of when Loma Linda University Medical Center entered a discussion. It was hard for us to imagine that the existing medical center would be dwarfed by what was to come.

April 12, 2015

We knew the day would come when the Medical Center Drive off of Anderson Street would be barricaded. We knew the date, April 12, 2015, but we didn’t know how it would be done or what time of day it would take place. In the morning on April 12, the Medical Center Drive was blocked. Closed by a chain-link fence punctuated by traffic cones. Two individuals casually stood on the median between the entrance and the exit. They appeared to be as bewildered as the drivers who slowed to turn but were waved on by an alert security officer. At Prospect Avenue and Anderson Street, another security officer directed traffic to the new Medical Center entrance off of Prospect Avenue.

A closeup of the fence. Its closure marked the end of an era and signaled the beginning of a transformation that no one at that time could comprehend.

July 5, 2016

For many months, the public did not know what was happening behind the security fence that surrounded the construction site. After a time, Webcams were installed at strategic locations, and word soon got out that there was a website hosted by Loma Linda University where one could watch the construction in real time. In the early stages of construction, these webcams were useful, but as the towers reached their maximum height, the images from the webcams have become limited in scope. The image above was taken on July 5, 2016, before excavation of the pit had begun.

April 29, 2017

Approximately one year later, cement trucks were lined up near the southeast corner of the construction site waiting their turn to backup and transfer its load of concrete into the pumps hopper. On this night, the second foundation pour was underway. The first foundation pour occurred in March. This was the second pour and would be the largest. The third and last pour would take place in May.

May 3, 2018

A year later, three sections of steel rose above the pit. Even at this stage, it was difficult to visualize the enormity of the project. At this stage, the Medical Center’s towers still dwarfed the steel that had yet to rival the buildings to the east.

May 1, 2019

By May 1, 2019, the size and scope of this modern healthcare complex can be and has been summed up in one word…WOW!! or the elongated word… WOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!