Construction began in 1918 on land donated by the Edward Hines Lumber Company that was originally Speedway Park, a board track racecourse.

The history of the property in Hines, Illinois began in 1835, when the land was sold to Frederick Bronson by the United States government.

[3] The course was host to a number of national and international racing competitions featuring competitors such as Barney Oldfield, Ralph DePalma, Louis Chevrolet, and Dario Resta.

Schmidt, Garden and Martin and H. B. Wheelock were awarded the commission to design the facility, and the Shank Company was tasked with its construction.

The hospital stood partially constructed for the next two years as Hines led an effort to lobby Congress to have the building taken over by the United States Public Health Service.

Secretary of the Treasury Carter Glass disapproved of the plan because no official contract was signed between Hines and the federal government.

With help from Congressmen Adolph J. Sabath, James Robert Mann, Martin B. Madden, and Carl R. Chindblom, a Senate vote on the matter passed 33 to 27.

A dedication ceremony was held on November 6, 1921 led by Marshal of France Ferdinand Foch and Senator Medill McCormick.

It was also the largest fireproof hospital in the nation, and featured many state-of-the-art technologies such as an electric call system and an x-ray department.

It was also at this point that the hospital grounds were extensively landscaped with a sunken garden, a new street lighting system, a new east entrance, and new drives.

On July 26, 1931, the Doughboy Fountain was donated by the Cook County American Legion Auxiliary in honor of World War I veterans.

Known as the Vaughan General Hospital, it was built on the 102-acre (41 ha) grounds of the former Maywood Air Mail Field to serve the needs of the Army.

The John J. Madden Clinic took over mental health operations from the hospital, allowing Hines to re-purpose 280 beds to intensive care.

Charles Lindbergh piloted the maiden air mail flight between Chicago and St. Louis, Missouri on April 15, 1926.