Last Updated on July 30, 2026 2:08 pm
The former Charles A. Cannon Memorial Hospital in Banner Elk is entering the final phases of demolition, more than 27 years after the building was vacated.
According to a recent update from Visit Banner Elk, the year-long demolition process has included many months of asbestos remediation. Eggers Construction owns the property and is overseeing the demolition. No plans for the site have been announced.
The hospital was built in 1962, replacing the 1932 Grace Hospital building — which still stands today as Tate Dorm on the Lees-McRae College campus. The Cannon Memorial complex has sat vacant since 1999, when the hospital merged with Sloop Memorial Hospital in Crossnore to form the current Cannon Memorial Hospital in Linville.
For nearly three decades, the empty hospital building has stood as a familiar — if increasingly weathered — landmark along the Banner Elk skyline, its brick facade a visible link to the town's mid-century history.
Photo 1 (Charles_A__Cannon_Memorial_Hospital_1.jpeg) — Current demolition, wide shot. An excavator tears into the brick structure, exposing interior rooms, with a large debris pile in the foreground. Use as the lead/featured image.
Suggested caption: The former Charles A. Cannon Memorial Hospital in Banner Elk, seen during ongoing demolition this week.
Photo 2 (Charles_A__Cannon_Memorial_Hospital_2.jpeg) — The hospital as it stood last year, before demolition began: close-up angle showing broken windows, graffiti, and an overgrown, abandoned breezeway/pool area.
Suggested caption: The hospital pictured last year, before demolition began, showing decades of vacancy.
Photo 3 (Charles_A__Cannon_Memorial_Hospital_3.jpeg) — Vintage 1960s postcard of the hospital when newly built, showing period cars and manicured grounds, labeled “Charles A. Cannon Jr. Memorial Hospital.”
Suggested caption: A 1960s postcard of the newly built Charles A. Cannon Jr. Memorial Hospital.
Not for publication: Screenshot_2026-07-30_at_2_00_44_PM.png is the source capture of Visit Banner Elk's Facebook post — reference only, not a standalone photo to run.
All three photos: 📷 Visit Banner Elk
