It must be a hidden talent, but the first major building we stumbled upon coming into Hannibal was a giant abandoned building, which in this case is the former St. Elizabeth’s Hospital.

It’s the usual story; it was founded over a century ago by nuns, it was added on to repeatedly over the last one hundred years, those same buildings became outdated, healthcare in America evolved, finally a new hospital was built out on the edge of town, and then this building was abandoned.

There have been efforts to renovate the hospital into senior housing, but that has not happened yet. There is a former chapel, which you can see above and below with the large rounded arch windows, which I bet was really beautiful before it was abandoned.

It’s interesting to see how the architectural styles change over the decades.

There is even a more Art-Deco style wing on the north end of the main building.

Amazingly, no one has stolen the very cool light posts flanking the entrance.