The Battle Creek Federal Center buildings have been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. It has been on the Register of Historic Places for both the State of Michigan and City of Battle Creek since September 1989. The reason for this distinction of the Battle Creek Federal Center is not merely that the buildings are old, big or important looking, but because of the many historically significant things which have happened in the location in the past 150 years.
In 1876, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg became Physician in Chief of the Western Health Reform Institute, the first health retreat operated by the Seventh-day Adventists located on the site. In 1878 he built a new structure on the site of the present Battle Creek Federal Center and named it the Sanitarium.
In 1902 the original building burned down, and a new building was constructed also named the Battle Creek Sanitarium. According to John Harvey's brother, and bookkeeper, William Keith (W.K.) Kellogg, who later formed the Kellogg's Corn Flake Company, the number of patients at the facility grew from 106 in 1866, to 7,006 patrons during the year 1906.
"The San", as it became locally known, and J.H. Kellogg were lampooned in T. Coraghessan Boyle's 1993 novel The Road to Wellville and the 1994 film adaptation.
During the years the sanitarium existed, many famous people of the day visited the facility and took part in the pioneering therapies developed there. Names like Amelia Earhart (The first female aviator to fly across the Atlantic), Johnny Weissmuller (Movie Star famous for portraying ‘Tarzan'), C.W. Post (Founder of Post Cereals), Warren G. Harding (29th President of the U.S.), Henry Ford (Founder of Ford Motor Company), Mary Todd Lincoln (Wife of President Abraham Lincoln), and James Cash Penny (Founder of J.C. Penny's Department Stores).
In 1942, the U.S. Army bought the complex and converted the buildings into the Percy Jones Army Hospital. The Army operated the 1,500 bed hospital through World War II and the Korean Conflict.
In 1954, the buildings were placed under the control of the General Services Administration (GSA). The first tenant was the Federal Civil Defense Administration. In 1959, the complex was renamed the Battle Creek Federal Center.
The Battle Creek Federal Center today houses 15 tenants. The workforce is evenly divided between men and women and 30 percent of those employed have a military background. The Battle Creek Federal Center is currently undergoing a renovation project which is almost completed. The estimated cost of the project is $29 million. Today, there is still an active wellness program featuring various health and fitness activities.
It is one of Battle Creek most impressive buildings!
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