The Post Office at the US Naval Special Hospital at Springfield College (ca. 1945)
Description:
This black and white photograph shows a man sitting at a desk in the post office at the US Naval Special Hospital at Springfield College (ca. 1945). He appears is rifling through papers and envelopes at the desk which has various mail contents covering it. Lining the wall are rows of mail sorter slots with envelopes and other miscellaneous mail poking out of them. There are lamps, desks, and chairs scattered around the room. Two large windows cover the back wall in the photograph. During the start of World War II, Springfield College served as training grounds for the Army Air Corps, which allotted the college $90,000 for upgrading facilities. In the spring of 1944, the training program was canceled; in order to conserve its assets for expanded postwar operations in the face of decreasing student enrollment, Springfield College negotiated a contract with the U.S. Navy to serve as a Naval Special Hospital. The Navy allotted $75,000 to bring the college up to the mark of a naval hospital, and the first contingent of one hundred and fifty patients arrived on September 22, 1944, and it was estimated that five hundred patients could be served. Alumni Hall was used as the hospital, and the old dormitory (now called the Administration Building) became administrative offices and housing for nurses and WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). On the back of the photographic print is handwritten, "Post Office";
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