Demolition work continues on campus of Western State Hospital
The longstanding view from passersby of Western State Hospital via Steilacoom Blvd SW is nearing the end of an era.
Many of the distinctive brick hospital buildings which housed patients and staff over the last 150 years that once dotted the landscape are almost no more. Dickson Company, a subcontractor working under Clark Construction, has been working to carefully demolish Building 21 since July 1.
Building 21 is the last remaining building to be leveled as crews work to prepare the site for construction of the new forensic hospital. The building adjacent to 21, Building 20, will not be demolished; it currently houses three active patient wards.
Earlier this month, a grapple claw attached to the end of a long-reach excavator effortlessly clawed through the empty mechanical space of the interior side of Building 21, sending debris tumbling to the ground in a cloud of dust.
The bricks have crumbled quite easily throughout Building 21’s demolition, said Courtney Lehrman, a project engineer with Clark.
A camera system affixed to the top of the crane boom has helped operators strategically chip away at downing the building, Lehrman said.
Once the debris is on the ground, crews sort it into three piles: wood, metal and brick/concrete.
The brick/concrete will be used in some form of a general fill for the foundation for the new hospital, Lehrman said.
The hospital’s former chapel, just west of Building 21, was demolished in April, the fifth building to come down at the time. Since then, six more have been toppled.
“The demolition and supporting activities have progressed safely and according to schedule,” said Taylor Johnson, project executive for Clark Construction.
