Babyland General Hospital

For those of us who became parents in the eighties, or those who were children of the eighties, we know how difficult it was to get certain essential toys. For some, this meant searching within a hundred mile radius to locate a Ghostbuster Firehall. For others, it was the elusive new thing in toys, the Cabbage Patch Doll.

People were rushing department stores and trampling each other to get their hands on one of these unique $25 dolls. It was said that no two were alike. 

Xavier Roberts, was an award winning art student, born in Cleveland Georgia. When he was 21, Roberts met ***Martha Nelson Thomas at a craft fair in Kentucky. She was the creator of soft sculpted dolls which became the inspiration for the very similar looking Cabbage Patch Kids. According to a variety of articles, she also had the adoption paper idea. Roberts first called his dolls "Little People" and eventually sold his dolls under the Cabbage Patch Kids name after creating an elaborate cabbage and magic crystals story. 

crystals at bottom right

   Roberts went into business and hired local seamstresses to       produce his dolls in a converted medical clinic (Babyland General Hospital) in his hometown of Cleveland, Georgia. 

  Original cabbage patch dolls were made using a process of  needle molding, a German technique for fabric sculpture along with a quilting technique, taught to Roberts by his mother.

   I was one of those parents in the eighties. No, I didn't have to wait in line, or resort to violence to get a doll, but I was  fortunate enough to locate a baby version complete with yellow onesie, a bonnet, and pacifier.

  This is where my 2023 adventure begins.

  I was in Atlanta area recently and was made aware of  Babyland General Hospital by my daughter. Prior to this trip, I knew very little of the cabbage patch dolls' history. How did I not know about this place sooner? I was fascinated because I'm a sucker for any kind of odd or unique attractions to visit. Not only that, the price was right...free admission.

We drove to Cleveland on a bright, sunny Friday. As we approached the massive white hospital, I was becoming very excited to go inside. Nonetheless,  I first needed to stop for a photo in front of the entry sign.

We parked and I walked around the building to the entrance where I was greeted by a lovely lady in a nurse's uniform. She informed me that it was ok to take as many pictures as I wanted, so I immediately took advantage of the opportunity to photograph her. "I'll bet you get your picture taken a lot." I said. "Oh yeah," she responded.

As I walked into the first room, a large space with many windows and glass display cases, I was enthralled by so many original soft sculpted dolls. There were all styles including historical figures, professions, formal attire and more. All dolls had a description or an informative note about who donated them.  

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I continued through the individually decorated nurseries and admired the occupants. Each had a personality of its own. There were even sibling sets in some of the cribs. I noted the faint,           unmistakable scent of baby powder in the air.                

   

After I passed the nurseries, I came into a room where the cabbages were growing. 

           

Finally, I reached the birthing center. I read a detailed article in the Orlando Sentinel (link below) which stated that births occur sporatically and that visitors are alerted to an impending birth by an announcement "dilation is eight leaves. All staff on standby."

 Sadly, I did not witness this event. It would have been interesting as there are supposed to be some rather uniquely disturbing birthing features. I did however, see the birthing center where the cabbages received intravenous feeding and were eventually born in the babyland delivery room.  

After passing through the delivery area, there is of course, a very large gift shop with all manner of dolls for adoption and other paraphernalia.

The vinyl headed dolls that everyone seemed to have in the 80's were made in Hong Kong. I have read reports that state numbers sold...er...adopted are anywhere from three to sixty five million dolls. 

Finally, the rather large, stunning Cleveland facility was built in 1919 and was a former medical clinic. Apparently, there have been talks to create a larger hospital for the still prolific cabbages. This one was quite adequate to satisfy my need for curiosity and nostalgia.

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***More details and photos are available on the internet and on Martha Nelson Thomas Doll Artist facebook page.

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 Full article from the Orlando Sentinel at this site - (copy & paste since I couldn't get the link to load)

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1991-12-20-9112190203-story.html