The County of Los Angeles released the 2026 LA County General Hospital Campus Master Plan (Master Plan) and Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) on May 15, 2026 for a 45-day public comment period that ended on June 29, 2026. The Master Plan envisions the transformation of a County-owned 30.8-acre site, including the 12-million-square-foot historic General Hospital, into a vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive mixed-use neighborhood.

The 2026 LA County General Hospital Master Plan Draft SEIR serves to update the 2014 LAC + USC Medical Center Master Campus Master Plan, which focused strictly on managing future hospital expansion. The current master plan looks at the site layout (open space, streets, and connections), the program needs (such as housing, shops, and community spaces), and the infrastructure priorities (including transportation, access, and utilities). It sets the overall direction for the campus but does not include detailed building designs, construction drawings, or final development plans.

The Conservancy strongly supports the County’s vision for a mixed-use Healthy Village at the LA General Hospital Campus, anchored by the adaptive reuse of the historic LA General Hospital for housing. We have identified concerns regarding the Draft SEIR’s treatment of historic resources and the evaluation of potential project impacts, suggesting areas where analysis could be further strengthened.

Serving the communities of Lincoln Heights, Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, El Sereno, Chinatown, Downtown Los Angeles, and more, the LA County General Hospital campus has been the site of numerous significant events in the history of public health. The campus contains one of the city’s most recognizable Art Deco buildings — LA General Hospital, recommended for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places in May 2026.

Made famous to daytime soap opera aficionados with its appearance in the opening credits of General Hospital, the massive Art Deco structure was designed by the Allied Architects’ Association of Los Angeles. The consortium of architects also designed the 1925 Hall of Justice, with input from the County Architect, Karl Muck.

The twenty-story concrete building was constructed between 1927 and 1933, against the backdrop of the Great Depression.

Its design reflects New Deal ideals of scale, centralized organization, and beauty in efficient form.

Imposing concrete statues by Salvatore Cartaino Scarpitta overlook the entrance to the building. Occupying the central position is the Angel of Mercy, who comforts an infirm couple. Representations of Western history’s great medical minds—Pasteur, Harvey, Vesalius, Hippocrates, Galen, and Hunter—flank the central figure.

The spacious foyer features exquisite ceiling murals by artist Hugo Ballin of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, and his sons. Ballin also painted the interior of the Los Angeles Times Building and the Griffith Observatory. The saint-like rendering of these figures suggests that an exalted place for the gods of medicine and their earthly instruments.

The sheer size of the entire complex, the largest single hospital facility built west of Chicago, is also a bold architectural statement.

In addition to its architectural significance, the facility is also notable for its relationship to the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s and community organizing in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 1990s.

Due to the age of the facilities and equipment, as well as new earthquake safety standards for medical buildings, most of the operations of LA General Hospital have been relocated to a new adjacent building. The 1933 building was partially converted to office use, but will be vacated to undergo a $134 million seismic-stabilization expected to begin in Summer 2026.

As of June 2026, the National Register listing for LA General Hospital is pending final approval by the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places. To view the full National Register nomination of LA General Hospital, click here.

The Conservancy has advocated for the retention and adaptive reuse of historic buildings on the LA General Medical Center for over ten years. We support the 2026 LA County General Hospital Campus Master Plan’s vision of expanding the campus beyond episodic care into a place that supports daily lives, opportunity, and belonging. We believe the Master Plan can balance a mix of uses that reflect community priorities and County objectives. We enthusiastically support the adaptive reuse of the National Register Los Angeles County General Hospital – Acute Unit and the creation of needed community resources, as this will be truly transformative and bring much-needed housing to Los Angeles. We however do have four main concerns about the 2026 Master Plan Draft SEIR’s impacts on historic and cultural resources:

• New mitigation measure is needed to address significant environmental impacts of the updated 2026 Master Plan on the Viaduct (604)
• Visual and Spatial Encroachment on contributing features including Los Angeles County General Hospital – Acute Unit (101), Patient’s Building (102), Visitor’s Building (103), and Entrance Forecourt
• Insufficient analysis of impacts to Historic Marengo Street and Zonal Avenue Gateways (137) and Control House (136)
• Failure to Identify Hazard Park as a Historic Resource in the Vicinity of the Project Site

We urge the County to address these considerations and gaps in the Final SEIR to help ensure the Los Angeles County General Hospital Campus Master Plan appropriately recognizes its historic significance while thoughtfully planning for the future.

To view our full comment letter in response to the 2026 LA County General Hospital Campus Master Plan Draft SEIR, click here.