Photos: Razing At Old Silver Cross Hospital In Joliet

JOLIET, IL - Over the past week, construction cranes have started tearing apart the vacant multi-story Joliet hospital where thousands of Will County residents were born. On Tuesday afternoon, Joliet Patch visited the property during the rainstorms. A friendly security guard met with the Patch editor near the gate along Route 6. He explained that several people have tried to enter the grounds of the old Silver Cross Hospital, presumably to take photos, or perhaps find some old crumbled bricks of concrete to save as souvenirs. For safety reasons, the demolition contractors cannot allow people to wander around the property.

People can take photos or capture video of the ongoing demolition as long as they remain behind the chain-link fence perimeter erected along Route 6.

Joliet's Silver Cross Hospital has been sitting vacant in recent years. Silver Cross built a state of the art medical campus a few years ago three miles up the road along Route 6 in New Lenox near Interstate 355.

Tuesday's demolition continued despite the rains.

Efforts to redevelop the Joliet hospital building never materialized. In 2017, Silver Cross and the city of Joliet reached an agreement to speed up the redevelopment of the Silver Cross parcel as a multi-use commercial property.

ORIGINAL STORY: Demolition Of Silver Cross Will Begin In Weeks

The redevelopment called for the demolition and removal of the old hospital complex on Joliet's east side. The local landmark sat on a hill just up the street from the old EJ&E rail yard, which later became Canadian National and has since been merged into Wisconsin Central railroad.

In all likelihood, the demolition of Silver Cross won't be finished for several more weeks.

Silver Cross, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018

Unrelated, but of high Joliet community interest:

Just a couple miles down the road, other contractors are busy in downtown Joliet this week tearing down the old First Midwest Bank near Washington and Ottawa Streets. The tear down is necessary so Will County government can build a new 10-story $215 million courthouse on the site.

STORY: First Midwest Bank Demolition Underway In Joliet

Images via John Ferak, Joliet Patch Editor