Torney General Hospital was a

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Hospital in Palm Springs, California, in

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

used during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Parts of Torney General Hospital are now the Desert Regional Medical Center. In November 1945 Torney General Hospital was closed and the Federal Works Administration sold the site. The Torney General Hospital became the Palm Springs Desert Hospital and the Palm Springs Desert Medical Plaza. The hospital is now called the Desert Regional Medical Center. The El Mirador Tower is still a landmark at the entrance to the hospital.

History

El Mirador Hotel

The El Mirador Hotel opened on December 31, 1927, as 20 acres Desert Resort. The hotel was built by Prescott Thresher Stevens and the Los Angeles architect firm of Walker & Eisen. El Mirador Hotel was busy spot visited by Hollywood stars and the wealthy. At the 1928 opening were:

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thi ...

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

and Lillian Gish. The hotel had an open policy, frequent guests were

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...

and

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

. The hotel had Spanish-Colonial Revival-style bell tower, 200 rooms, tennis courts, Olympic swimming pool, horse stables, and a golf course. El Mirador is Spanish for watchtower. The 120-acre golf course was California' first desert golf course. Stevens built the hotel at a cost of one million dollars. The good times at the hotel ended with the Wall Street Crash on October 24, 1929. Stevens sold the hotel at loss for $300,000 in 1932. Purchased by bondholders Tony Burke and Frank Bogert, the new owners publicized Palm Springs and the hotel as an international playground.

Amos 'n' Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio show ...

show was broadcast from the hotel in the early 1930s.

Torney General Hospital

The

purchased the El Mirador Hotel in July 1942 and rebuilt the 139 acre complex as a 1600-bed general hospital. A year later, in 1943, the Army transferred the hospital to the Army Air Forces. Torney General Hospital was named after George H. Torney (1850–1913), physician in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and Army who served as the 21st Surgeon General of the United States Army. Torney General Hospital was used for general medicine, with specialized care for rheumatic fever, general surgery and orthopedic surgery. The hospital supported the

Desert Training Center The Desert Training Center (DTC), also known as California–Arizona Maneuver Area (CAMA), was a World War II training facility established in the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert, largely in Southern California and Western Arizona in 1942. It ...

, other California training camps and troops returning home from overseas. With a shortage of manpower, 250 men with the Italian Service Unit worked at the hospital. A

Women's Army Corps The Women's Army Corps (WAC) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) on 15 May 1942 and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United States ...

Detachment also worked at the hospital. Units stationed at Torney General Hospital during World War II included: * 22 Army Service Forces General Hospital * 737th and 742nd Sanitation Companies (Medical)(Colored) * 1976th Service Command Unit (Station Complement) * 1976th Service Command Unit (Station Complement) * Italian Service Unit 1967th Service Command Unit from Camp Haan, Prisoner of War Branch Camp near

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

. In 1951, the National Hotel Enterprises purchased the buildings not used for the Palm Springs Desert Hospital. National Hotel Enterprises modernized the hotel and it opened again on December 13, 1952. In the 1960s it became a

Hilton hotel Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton. The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...

and KMIR-TV NBC opened a studio there. In 1972 Desert Hospital next to the hotel purchased the hotel and expanded the hospital.

Desert Regional Medical Center

Desert Regional Medical Center is a 385-bed General Hospital located at 1150 N. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs. Desert Regional Medical Center opened in 1948 and is currently operated by

Tenet Healthcare Tenet Healthcare Corporation is a for-profit multinational healthcare services company based in Dallas, Texas, United States. Through its brands, subsidiaries, joint ventures, and partnerships, including United Surgical Partners International (U ...

. Desert Regional Medical Center has an emergency room and a Level II

trauma center A trauma center (or trauma centre) is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma center may also refer to an emergen ...

that serves the Coachella Valley. Desert Regional Medical Center has General Medicine Care and specialize care for: Digestive Disorders, Heart Care, Lab Services, Minimally Invasive Procedures, Rehabilitation Services, Respiratory, Weight Loss Surgery, Women's Health, Maternity and Neonatal intensive care unit. Desert Regional Medical Center has 300 physicians on staff covering over 40 different specialties. The number of medical offices there are called the Desert Regional Medical Center campus. Desert Regional Medical Center is part of the Desert Care Network that includes: John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio, California, Hi-Desert Medical Center in

Joshua Tree, California Joshua Tree is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 7,414 at the 2010 census. At approximately above sea level, Joshua Tree and its surrounding communities are located in the High ...

. Desert Care Network also includes: Medpost Urgent Care centers in Indio,

La Quinta, California La Quinta ( Spanish for "The Fifth") is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States. Located between Indian Wells and Indio, it is one of the nine cities of the Coachella Valley. The population was 37,467 at the 2010 c ...

and

Palm Desert, California Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census. The city has bee ...

and primary & specialty Care offices in the Coachella Valley.(1 January 2008)
Tenet Healthcare finishes up deal
''

The Desert Sun ''The Desert Sun'' is a local daily newspaper serving Palm Springs and the surrounding Coachella Valley in Southern California. History ''The Desert Sun'' is owned by Gannett publications since 1988 and acquired the Indio ''Daily News'' in 1 ...

''(27 June 2008)
Daniel Bowers Named CEO at John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital
''

Business Wire Business Wire is an American company that disseminates full-text press releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases, bloggers, ...

Present features

Desert Healthcare Park

Desert Healthcare Park also called Wellness Park was built in 1948 on the former Torney General Hospital land. The City of Palm Springs, the Desert Water Agency, and Palm Springs Unified School District have helped to build the park. The park is maintained by the non-profit group, Desert Healthcare Foundation. The five-acre public park at 1140 N. Indian Canyon Drive in Palm Springs has: * Interactive gardens * Quarter-mile walking/jogging loop with drinking fountains and benches * Five exercise/fitness stations * Gardens * Meditation spots * Memorial * Fragrance garden * Bubbling fountain * Butterfly and hummingbird garden

Ruth Hardy Park

The city-owned 22 acre Ruth Hardy Park was built in 1948 on the former Torney General Hospital land. It is located at 700 Tamarisk Road.

El Mirador Tower

The El Mirador Tower is a Moroccan-Spanish style landmark in Palm Springs since the hotel was built in 1927. In the early days the El Mirador Tower had a broadcast radio studio – some ''

'' shows were done in the tower.
here for Table of Contents
The original tower was destroyed on July 25, 1989, in a fire that started just after midnight.
/ref> In 1991 a new tower that looks just like the original tower was built.

References

External links

Desert Regional Medical Center

Desert Care Network
{{authority control Hospitals in Riverside County, California Military in Riverside County, California Installations of the United States Army in California Closed installations of the United States Army Closed medical facilities of the United States Army History of Riverside County, California United States in World War II 1942 establishments in California