Crile General Hospital, named for renowned Cleveland surgeon Dr. George W. Crile, founder of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and a brigadier general in the U.S. Army, was dedicated at this site on April 21, 1944. The $4.5 million hospital covered 153 acres and contained seven miles of corridors linking 87 buildings with 1725 beds. During World War II, its staff provided care to 15,000 wounded U.S. soldiers and several hundred German prisoners of war. The hospital became a Veterans Administration Medical Center in 1945. A Nike missile battery was installed on the grounds in 1956 as part of the nation's general defense program. In 1966 the Crile barracks became the Western Campus of Cuyahoga Community College, registering 3,000 students for its fall inaugural semester, and the college used the old Crile buildings until the current campus was constructed in 1975.