Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society

By the late 19th century, Colorado and the American Southwest had become famous for the health benefits of a dry, sunny climate. At that time, the only known treatment for tuberculosis was clean air and sunshine and hundreds of people with tuberculosis descended upon Denver in hopes of finding a cure for what was then the nation's leading cause of death.[9] Consequently, many people with tuberculosis spent their last dollars coming to Colorado. By the 1890s, it was estimated that one out of every three residents of the state was there for respiratory reasons. However, no facilities existed to provide treatment or shelter to these victims. In Denver, victims of tuberculosis were literally dying in the streets as boarding houses often banned "lungers," as they were called.[10]

In its history as a sanatorium, the JCRS hospital also became known as a center of Yiddish poetry and many of the patients were or became well-known literary figures, including Yehoash,[11] Lune Mattes,[12] H. Leivick,[13] and Shea Tenenbaum.[14]

In 1954, JCRS repurposed itself as the American Medical Center at Denver dedicated to cancer research and treatment. A few years later, in 1957, approximately 20 acres (8.1 ha) of the original JCRS campus along West Colfax Avenue between Kendall and Pierce Streets were developed into the JCRS Shopping Center. Originally rented as revenue for the hospital, AMC later sold the shopping center and, in 1979, Casa Bonita moved into the JCRS Shopping Center. At about the same time, AMC also began renting the New York Building to Jefferson County and later sold the building to the county.[15]

In 2002, as AMC merged with the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design purchased the historic JCRS campus.[16] The college later purchased the Albertson's Building in the Lamar Station (JCRS) Shopping Center.

Hospital staff and supporters

• Philip Hillkowitz
• Rabbi Charles Kauvar of the Beth HaMedrosh Hagodol-Beth Joseph
• Rabbi William S. Friedman of the Temple Emanuel (Denver)
• Jacob Marinoff
• May Arno Schwatt[17]
• Charles David Spivak

Patients (In chronological order)

• Yehoash (poet)
• Shayna Korngold (sister of former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir)
• Yehuda Leib Ginsburg
• H. Leivick
• Shea Tenenbaum
• Max Lazarus

• In 2009, Jeanne Abrams, Ph.D., published Dr. Charles David Spivak: A Jewish Immigrant and the American Tuberculosis Movement (2009)
• In 2020, Thomas E. Keefe, Ed.D., published This Day in RMCAD and the Historic JCRS | AMC Campus: A Diary of Care, Research, and Creativity (2020)
• In 2022, Gracie Daniels published "A Blast the Past Past: RMCAD’s Campus History"[18]

• The University of Denver has a permanent online exhibit "Chasing the Cure" in which the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society features prominently.[19]
• In 2019, the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society was featured in the "Lakewood: A 20th Century Journey" exhibition as part of Lakewood's 50th Anniversary celebration[20]
• In 2022, The Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design hosted the descendants of Dr. Charles D. Spivak and H. David Spivak. Professor Thomas E. Keefe presented a lecture on the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society, the Spivak Family, and H. David Spivak in particular.[21][22]

• http://www.rmcad.edu