Firland Sanatorium, Seattle’s municipal tuberculosis hospital, opened on May 2, 1911, to help combat what was at the time Seattle’s leading cause of death. Firland was located north of Seattle, on land donated by railroad magnate Horace C. Henry (1844-1928), whose son Walter had died of TB. The hospital served there until its move in 1947 to a former Naval hospital at 15th Avenue NE and 150th Street, and continued to treat TB patients until developments in antibiotics greatly reduced the number of patients and the hospital closed in 1973.

In this image eight patients at Firland Sanatorium pose for a photo before receiving their high school diplomas at a special commencement program in the hospital's auditorium. The individuals are identified from left as, Charles Le Warne, Elizabeth Butler, Norma Kappa, Alice Larsen (seated), Georgia Mahoney, Del Uchida, Joseph Saulsberry, and Hiro Hara.

Caption information source: "Firland Sanatorium," by Paula Becker, HistoryLink.org Essay 3928