Centennial

Today I took a self-guided walking tour of historical sites on the Loma Linda campus. This is an especially appropriate time for such a walk. In 2005, Loma Linda celebrated the centennial of the acquisition of the area by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and this coming weekend, the School of Medicine will celebrate the centennial of its founding.

The tour begins at the Good Samaritan Monument at the center of campus. Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10.25-37 established a model which Loma Linda aspires to emulate.

The Centennial Pavilion is just being completed. It houses state-of-the-art class rooms and teaching labs.

The imposing University Church sits near the Good Samaritan Monument.

Most of the university structures built during the first half of the 20th century have been destroyed, so the walking tour is more a tour of sites than of buildings. However, a few of the original patient cottages still exist on a hill in the middle of Loma Linda called The Mound. The first (failed) attempt to settle and develop the area, in fact, was called Mound City, and early developers tried to market it as "The Switzerland of America Where Health and Pleasure Are Twins."

Back at the University Medical Center, another group of bronzes evokes the story of Jesus welcoming the children. It combines Jesus in Biblical dress with children, the sick, the aged, and their care givers in 20th century clothes.

I have no intention of turning this blog into a publicity spiel for Loma Linda. However, perhaps it's appropriate to be appreciative of an institution that is saving my life while also preserving and enhancing its quality.