Arequipa Sanatorium: Life in California’s Lung Resort for Women

As San Francisco recovered from the devastating earthquake and fire of 1906, dust and ash filled the city’s stuffy factories, stores, and classrooms. A San Francisco physician, Dr. Philip King Brown, noticed rising tuberculosis rates among the women who worked there, and knew there were few places where they could access treatment. In 1911, Brown opened a remarkable institution in Marin County called the Arequipa Sanatorium, where he provided working-class women with affordable tuberculosis treatment. Author Lynn Downey’s grandmother was a patient at Arequipa in the 1920s, and Lynn helped preserve the sanatorium’s records. Join us at CHS as Lynn tells her story through an illustrated lecture about her new book titled Arequipa Sanatorium: Life in California’s Lung Resort for Women.