Haunted Hospital: Muirdale Sanatorium in Wauwatosa

Muirdale Tuberculosis Sanatorium

While it's natural for old buildings to change businesses throughout the years, hospitals don't usually get converted into business spaces, but that's precisely what happened to the Muirdale Tuberculosis Sanatorium, located in Wauwatosa, WI. Now, it is known as the Technology Innovation Center and houses tech companies. The feel of the building being a hospital still remains, and will give you the creeps. Believe me, I've been in it.

Sanatoriums are often mixed up with sanitariums, so it's important to note they're not the same although it is suspected that at different times this building was both. Sanatoriums are for treating chronically ill patients, while sanitariums are sometimes thought of as insane asylums. This place was used as a center for people suffering from tuberculosis, so many people lived and died here, some of whom may have never left.

History

The hospital was built in 1915, and its construction pioneered methods for the treatment of this formerly deadly disease. It is 80,000 square feet and has multiple stories. If you walk through it, you will feel like you're in a hospital, not a business building and it's pretty eerie. The way the doors are set up is reminiscent of this hospital and spaced out at equal intervals. As you walk through, you feel like you should be visiting an ill patient instead of a tech company.

The other cool architectural feature is the design of the building shape itself. It shows an innovative approach to treating the disease with this tall, single building. There used to be cottages where patients lived who didn't need as much treatment that surrounded the still-standing main building. This separation and design allowed doctors more space to treat many patients and enough room for research labs, operating rooms, kitchen, and dining space.

My Experience

I once went to this building to meet with one of the technology companies that currently call it home. As soon as I walked up the creepy stone stairs, I knew the building would be interesting. The waiting room was this large round room with a bunch of windows, which must have been nice for the patients to look out into the world.

We went up to another floor and what struck me the most was how much it looked like a hospital, and this was before I knew its history. The space was eerily quiet, and although the offices inside have nothing to do with medicine, the feeling of apprehension filled the space as if you were in a functional hospital.

Haunted Stories?

Given that many people died in this space, it is logical to assume there may still be some lurking around. Coughing, voices, and apparitions have allegedly been seen. It was a mental health facility for the elderly for a few years in the 1970s (but no, still not an insane asylum), and permanently closed in 1978. It was scheduled for demolition until Milwaukee historical preservationists lobbied for it to be on the National Register of Historic Places (which was finally certified in 2018) but in the 1990s, it was decided to turn it the building into a business incubator.

In May of 2000, a contributor posted this to a local Internet forum :

I work in a building that used to be the Milwaukee County Sanitarium. The county has turned the building into a technology incubator for small businesses and has recently renovated the 5th floor for offices. The 5th floor was where the most troubled patients were living and many were said to have died here. I am now working on the 5th floor.

There have been numerous sightings and door-slammings, moaning pipes and cries for help. An executive here was working late one night and saw a nurse in the conference room in full uniform, smoking a cigarette. Her age was mid-forties.

Just this past Friday 2 people were working late and experienced doors slammings, up and down the hallway, and nobody was here.

The experiences are historic and common. One night, prior to the 5th floor renovation, a man was staring out a window at a worker for our company. It was 2am and the building was vacant. He appeared to be mid-60's and bald(ing). Again, visible plain as day-on the 5th floor.

Sounds like he mixed up his sanitariums and sanatoriums, but if you're looking for a creepy building, check this one out. Just keep in mind that it's now an office building. Though, you couldn't pay me to hang out in there all day.

Explore the Haunting History of Muirdale Sanatorium

Unearth the eerie secrets of Wauwatosa’s Muirdale Sanatorium, where the shadows of its past as a tuberculosis hospital still linger. Now transformed into the Technology Innovation Center, this former sanatorium still retains its haunting hospital feel, with chilling whispers of its former life surrounding each hallway and office.

Join us for a Muirdale Sanatorium Tour and dive into the spine-tingling stories of those who never left. With unexplained noises, eerie apparitions, and ghostly tales, this is one haunted destination you won’t want to miss. Book your tour now and experience the lasting legacy of Muirdale’s past!

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