It’s disappearing quickly, but this is what Hillcrest Baptist Hospital looked like when it opened in 1920.

“Hillcrest Baptist Hospital began as the Central Texas Baptist Sanitarium in 1920 three miles north of Waco on land donated by J. J. Dean. The idea for a hospital originated with First Baptist Church of Waco minister Arthur James Barton, and the Waco Baptist Association approved the proposal in 1915. J. M. Dawson, also of First Baptist, chaired the hospital’s Board of Directors, filed at charter, and began construction in 1917. World War I delayed the opening, but once opened, the hospital had a School of Nursing and support from Columbus Avenue, Calvary, and Seventh and James Baptist churches as well as First Baptist. The name changed to Hillcrest in 1938, and in 1945 the Baptist General Convention of Texas assumed control. Photo courtesy Mr. and Mrs. Sonny Chatham.”

This original building faced Proctor Avenue, with Herring Avenue behind it.

Quoted Text and photo from the book “Waco:A Sesquicentennial History” (1999) by Patricia Ward Wallace.