Walter Reed opened in 1909

The Associated Press

Congressional legislation authorized the construction of the Walter Reed General Hospital, which admitted its first patients on May 1, 1909. It's named after Maj. Walter Reed, an Army physician and researcher credited with discovering that mosquitoes transmitted yellow fever.

Presidents, Cabinet members, military leaders, senators and foreign leaders have received medical treatment there and in its successor institution, Walter Reed Army Medical Center. President Eisenhower died at the hospital in 1969.

The new Walter Reed Army Medical Center was dedicated in 1977. With 5,500 rooms, the hospital admits more than 14,000 patients a year. Outpatient-treatment facilities serve thousands of patients a day.

The design of the hospital around several courtyards means every patient room has a window with an outside view. Located near the Maryland line, the 113-acre compound has its own fire and police departments, a chapel and a hotel for recovering soldiers and their families.