In 1891 when the boundaries of Glasgow were extended to include Ruchill and Maryhill, the Glasgow Corporation purchased 53 acres (21 ha) of land there for a public park, golf course and 36 acres (15 ha) for the city's second fever hospital,[1] to create the additional capacity beyond that already provided at Belvidere Hospital in Parkhead.

The hospital cost £250,000 and was designed to deal specifically with infectious diseases, such as smallpox, diphtheria, scarlet fever, poliomyelitis and measles, which were widespread at the time.

[8] The first nude mice were discovered by Dr. Norman R. Grist at the newly-established Brownlee virology laboratory in the hospital in 1962.

[9] With the discovery of vaccinations and improved public health, cases of diseases like tuberculosis declined, and the number of in-patients had reduced to 586 by 1975.

[1] Plans were subsequently submitted by Scottish Enterprise in April 2010 to demolish all the remaining listed buildings, with the exception of the red-brick category A-listed water tower.

[3] In October 2020, Bellway submitted an application to Glasgow City Council for planning consent for a housing development at the former hospital; the proposal attracted objections from the former MP Paul Sweeney among others, on the basis that the style of the development was inappropriate in the context of the historic importance of the location.