From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Aug. 29, 1975:

A groundbreaking ceremony brought about 120 persons to the north parking lot of Lawrence Memorial Hospital today. A planned expansion to the hospital was to create space for 200 additional beds and new ancillary facilities. Completion was expected in about 21 months. Lawrence Mayor Barkley Clark, speaking at the ceremony, said the project was a key step in Lawrence’s progress in being a city which placed “greater emphasis on the quality of life.” The new facility, Clark said, represented a total change in the quality of health care, and would be “a great improvement in patient care regardless of the patient’s ability to pay.” Clark added that the expansion would bring new physicians to the community and would benefit the Pinckney neighborhood, which was losing the city maintenance garage at Fifth and Indiana streets.