Changing Cancer’s Course in the Pacific Northwest
In 1975, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center opened its doors in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood. William "Bill" Hutchinson, MD, established it as a living memorial to his younger brother, Fred, a baseball legend who died of cancer at age 45.
Bill envisioned an institution devoted to studying cancer with the goal of eliminating the disease and improving lives. After Fred’s death, he channeled his brotherly devotion into just that — a center dedicated to studying cancer. With critical help from U.S. Senator Warren Magnuson and the Seattle community, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center opened its doors as the first place of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.
Warren Magnuson, his wife Jermaine, and Bill Hutchinson with the shovels for ground-breaking in 1973 of First Hill building, Fred Hutchinson CRC.
The Thomas Building on the Fred Hutch campus.
Bill Hutchinson and Virginia tour the Internal construction of Columbia Building on First Hill, 1974.
Warren Magnuson, his wife Jermaine, and Bill Hutchinson with the shovels for ground-breaking in 1973 of First Hill building, Fred Hutchinson CRC.
The Thomas Building on the Fred Hutch campus.
Bill Hutchinson and Virginia tour the Internal construction of Columbia Building on First Hill, 1974.
Timeline of Our History
1975 — Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center opens in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood.
1976 — Fred Hutch establishes its pediatric bone marrow transplant program.
1979 — Dr. E. Donnall Thomas and his team perform the first successful bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor for a patient with leukemia.
1982 — Fred Hutch establishes its cancer prevention program.
1991 — The Science Education Partnership is created to provide science teachers with hands-on training in research labs.
1994 — Fred Hutch opens its campus in the South Lake Union neighborhood in Seattle.
1998 — Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) is formed as a partnership among Fred Hutch, Seattle Children's and UW Medicine.
1999 — The 70-unit Pete Gross House, named after former Fred Hutch patient and Seattle Seahawks' Ring of Honor member, opens to accommodate patients and their families.
2000 — Fred Hutch is selected as the headquarters for the global HIV Vaccine Trials Network.
2001 — The first outpatient clinic complex opens on the Fred Hutch campus. (Now called Sloan Clinic.)
2003 — The Fred Hutch/University of Washington/Seattle Children's Cancer Consortium is formed.
2013 — The proton therapy facility opens to provide advanced radiation treatment that precisely targets tumors with a goal of limiting harm to healthy tissue. It is the first and only facility of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.
2019 — Fred Hutch opens clinic locations in Issaquah and Poulsbo.
2022 — Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and SCCA merge to form Fred Hutch Cancer Center.
2023 — The second building of the Sloan Clinic opens to provide more outpatient care to patients.
2025 — Fred Hutch celebrates its 50th year.
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