I was born at Walter Reed and grew up in two neighborhoods near the hospital. I have fond memories of walking around the gardens, going to Mass at the chapel, going to the little store, and getting my tonsils out there.
The old buildings were still around when I had my tonsils out, and they still put patients on the sleeping porches.
It sad to see such a landmark go. It seems that they just built the new buildings; how can they be out of date already?
I heard, rumor only, that the new hospital building was built on substandard soil and was having problems. I also heard that for security reasons, the State Department is going to build a new building with better security measures.