During the war, in the basement of Goldwater's Building D, were assembled what has been called "the workings of elite science"-the scientists who would go on to develop many of the great biomedical research advances in the postwar era.

Goldwater Memorial Hospital in New York was the focus of antimalarial drug research during World War II. Dr. James A. Shannon led the group, which included Drs. Bernard Brodie, Sidney Udenfriend, and Robert Berliner, and future Nobel Prize winner Julius Axelrod. Dr. Robert Bowman came to Goldwater after the war.
Goldwater Memorial Hospital opened in 1939 as the first public hospital in America devoted solely to the treatment of chronic diseases. In 1942 it became the focal point for a national campaign to develop a new treatment for malaria-one of the most significant medical problems for the Allies in World War II. During the war, in the basement of Goldwater's Building D, were assembled what has been called "the workings of elite science"-the scientists who would go on to develop many of the great biomedical research advances in the postwar era.

After the war, though the antimalarial group had moved, for the most part, to NIH, Goldwater itself continued to be the locus for research into chronic disease. Goldwater, which was named after S. S. Goldwater, a New York hospital commissioner, merged with the Bird S. Coler Hospital in 1996. The 2,000-bed long-term health facility provides extended care for people who need ongoing medical attention due to diseases including Alzheimer's and AIDS.