Early Tent Laboratory and Dispensary at the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society, 1905

A medical services tent at the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society (JCRS) Sanatorium near Edgewater, just west of Denver, Colorado, was dedicated on March 26, 1905. A sign on the door reads: ''Laboratory and Dispensary.'' The sign over the door reads: ''Minsker Independent Benevolent Ass'n. New York City.'' The sign to the right of the door reads: 'This tent erected and furnished by the Minsker Independent Benevolent Association of New York.'' Early patients and staff were housed in Tucker Tents, which were shelters that helped contain the highly contagious tuberculosis while allowing air to pass through at all times. A boardwalk in the foreground (with doormat) connects this tent to others in the complex. The JCRS was a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients that was founded in 1904 by a group of immigrant Jewish workingmen along with the support of several leading physicians and rabbis in Denver. It was located on West Colfax Avenue just outside of Denver.