Entrance to Loomis Sanatorium, Liberty, N.Y.
The Loomis Sanatorium was established at the village of Liberty in Sullivan County, New York for the treatment of tuberculosis. It was established in 1894. With a capacity for approximately 250 patients and spread over 500 acres, it was one of the largest sanatoriums in the United States. The facility was named for Dr. Alfred L. Loomis. The sanatorium operated through the 1940s.
The postcard was published by Otto Hillig. It was manufactured in Germany. It was never mailed.
Otto Hillig can be considered one of the great photographers in Catskills history. Arriving from Germany in the United States as a poor teenage immigrant he took on a series of odd jobs before developing a prosperous photography business at his adopted hometown in the village of Liberty in Sullivan County, New York. He operated a well-regarded portrait studio in the village, extensively photographed the landscapes of the region and was considered an earlier pioneer of aerial photography.
