By Mike Patty
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

This was President Dwight Eisenhower's hospital room, as it appeared in 1955, while he recuperated from a heart attack at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center. The eighth-floor suites are now a part of University Hospital and slated for renovation.

AURORA -- For seven weeks in the fall of 1955, world attention focused on a small suite of rooms on the eighth floor of Fitzsimons Army Medical Center.

It was there President Dwight D. Eisenhower recovered from a heart attack he suffered while on a vacation in Denver.

University Hospital, which took over Fitzsimons after the federal government closed it, is in the process of restoring that suite to how it looked then.

"It's amazing that almost everyone who comes here wants to see the room where President Eisenhower stayed," said University Hospital President Dennis Brimhall. "The interest was so high we decided that with a little work and the help of some historical architects, we could restore the room to exactly as it was."

University Hospital has been awarded a $61,100 grant from the Colorado Historical Society for the restoration.

Work will begin next month and should be completed by April, said University Hospital spokeswoman Sarah Ellis.

Several personal items have been found, including Ike's red flannel pajamas with four stars on the pocket and a pink toilet seat cover used in first lady Mamie Eisenhower's bathroom.

"We have also contacted the Smithsonian Institute and Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kan., about getting some memorabilia to make it more authentic," Brimhall said. "We haven't made a decision yet, but we are also thinking about outfitting another room across the hall with modern cardiac equipment. The contrast would be a great educational tool."

Ike's heart attack apparently began while playing golf at Cherry Hills Country Club on Sept. 23, 1955, when he complained of what he thought was indigestion. He returned to the home of his mother-in-law, Elivera Doud, at 750 Lafayette St., where he had dinner that evening with his physician.

"He retired early, still complaining of pain after the doctor left," said Katherine Ripley-Williams, corporate and foundation administrator for University Hospital. "His wife, Mamie, called his doctor back to the house about 2 a.m., but they didn't take the president to the hospital until later in the morning."

Upon arrival at Fitzsimons, Eisenhower was rushed to room 8002 and the entire eighth floor was soon occupied by military police and health care personnel. Treatment consisted of administering a combination of drugs and placing the president in an oxygen tent.

"The doctors had many different opinions of treatment," Ripley-Williams said. "It's amazing how little they knew by today's standards. They made him stay in bed and not move for days, thinking that was the best treatment."

When news of Ike's heart attack became known, the press descended on Fitzsimons.

"The president's room was right off the hallway," Brimhall said. "The place where the media sat was only about 20 paces away. The contrast from today is incredible."

Brimhall said they are trying to contact staff members who worked during that time to record an oral history and to ensure the restoration is accurate.

"I think when we are finished, it will be a wonderful glimpse into a time when things were very much simpler," he said.

August 10, 1999

Colorado Millennium 2000 is a yearlong project by the Denver Rocky Mountain News, NEWS4 and the Colorado Historical Society
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