The Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center opened its doors July 9, 1951, in a converted fraternity house on Garland Avenue. Its first patient was an 18-year-old woman with moderate hearing loss and an articulation disorder, who was seen by Freeman McConnell, PhD, one of the first generation of audiologists and the clinic’s director.
Over the next seven decades, the center grew alongside the field itself — moving to a new, state-of-the-art building on 19th Avenue before settling into Medical Center East in 2005. These photos are a glimpse into its early days.
