60 Never Looked So Good – Kennestone Hospital Celebrates 60th in June

As the New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the 47th World Series of baseball and North Korean forces invaded South Korea to begin the Korean War, Georgia Governor Herman Talmadge helped to dedicate what we now know as WellStar Kennestone Hospital.

A group concerned with the welfare of its friends and neighbors proposed a 50-bed hospital project financed by the City of Marietta. Land was purchased in 1946 and ground was broken on property purchased from Abner Towers off of Church Street. The project lost momentum due to a lack of funding, but a group of city councilmen obtained federal and state funding to help leverage the building of a 105-bed hospital on the site.

Locals celebrated as their community members would no longer have to leave Marietta to receive high-quality medical treatment. Following the June 1950 opening, the hospital quickly outgrew its capacity and additions began to allow for more patients. In 1953, the first Red Cross Grey Ladies, the forerunners of today’s Kennestone Hospital Volunteers, began serving. In 1955, a second addition was completed, increasing the bed capacity to 155. This addition included an X-ray department, operating rooms and other outpatient areas.

Be sure to commemorate Kennestone Hospital’s rich history this June as the hospital celebrates its 60th birthday!

State-of the-art Operating Rooms. With the 1955 addition, the hospital was able to add more operating rooms.

Kennestone’s Changing Face. The current hospital main entrance, which is accessed via Tower Road and Kennestone Hospital Boulevard, mimics the lettering style seen in the photograph to the left, taken in the early 1960s.