Old Military Hospital

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Civil architecture · Year: 1891

The old military hospital, located on Galcerán street, is today a socio-health centre dependent on the Cabildo de Tenerife, where nearly 200 elderly people are cared for and accommodated.

The first proper military hospital that Santa Cruz had was located on the site where the Captaincy now stands. It was built in 1779 at the behest of the Marqués de Tabalosos, general commander of the archipelago at that time. The direction of the works was entrusted to infantry captain Juan Güinther. It was a large building but poorly equipped from a hygienic point of view, lacking natural light and ventilation inside. It seems that the entrance was the only area that looked good, as it had a small garden occupying the centre of the building's first floor. It had five wards with a capacity for 92 beds, a bathroom, galleries where convalescents circulated, and an establishment that functioned as a pharmacy. The whole complex was surrounded, on one side, by the road to La Laguna which later became the Rambla de Pulido, and on the other, by orchards and fields. Its front part was an irregular field used for military manoeuvres and later became Plaza de Weyler.

When the Captaincy palace was projected, the military hospital disappeared from its original location in 1879. Another more suitable building was constructed a little further south, where it is found today. The works on the new building began in 1878 and were completed in 1891. The building, part of whose original façade we can still see today, had an austere appearance with typological characteristics framed within classicism. Its spatial organisation was configured by a comb-shaped morphology, with several inner courtyards. Access was from the street after passing a shiny grille and climbing a large staircase.

After years of service as a military hospital, the building was adapted at the beginning of the 21st century as a socio-health centre. The team of architects Cabrera & Febles and Germán Delgado developed a project in line with the new needs. The complex is now structured through three large socio-health areas (the chronic care centre, the day centre, and the social club). The works began in 2004 and at the time of its inauguration, October 2009, the centre had a total of 188 places, 158 residential and 30 day places.

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