The Workingmen Circle No. 248 building was typical of early housing for tuberculosis patients. The structure was designed to give patients the greatest access to fresh air and sunshine, which, along with rest and healthy food, was considered at the time the best treatment for the disease.

Members of the Workmen’s Circle, as it is more often known, played a key role in founding City of Hope. The Los Angeles branch — specifically No. 248 — helped organize the first meeting that led to the creation of the Jewish Consumptive Relief Association (JCRA), a movement spurred by a Jewish constituency to give free care to people with tuberculosis in a nonsectarian environment. The Workmen’s Circle also was the first Jewish organization to contribute financially to the movement.

Los Angeles branches No. 248 and No. 443 provided funds for two cottages that could accommodate eight patients. Located on Sunshine Lane in Duarte, Calif., the buildings were dedicated on May 9, 1915. By autumn 1916, the JCRA sanatorium had 16 cottages housing more than 60 people. In the late 1930s, cottage No. 248 was demolished to make way for construction of the House of Hope (now called the Morton La Kretz House of Hope), which still stands today.