If you’re into that new-building smell and Gig Harbor-area culture, St. Anthony might be your hospital heaven.

The area’s first large-scale hospital opened its doors today, giving residents from the Gig Harbor, Key Peninsula and Kitsap County areas a closer option for emergency and other medical treatment.

Of course, many of the people who live west of the Tacoma Narrows have been waiting for St. Anthony’s opening since 2003, when the state gave Franciscan Health System its blessing to build the 80-bed hospital.

But there’s been a buzz over St. Anthony’s first day the last week or so. I wrote about its opening over the weekend, but I couldn’t resist checking it out for myself today.

Making my way up Canterwood Boulevard Northwest, I was struck at how the 260,000-square-foot building was barely visible from Highway 16.

Once you’re in sight, St. Anthony’s grandeur can hit you like an errant ball from the nearby Canterwood Golf & Country Club.

The visitor parking was packed, although it’s unclear whether those were actually visitors or staff.

Construction workers were still putting the finishing touches on the place, as evidence by a couple of men trying to figure out why the main lobby’s automatic door wasn’t opening.

The oohs and aahs continue once you’re inside the main lobby. The whole place looks out on a courtyard with a rock-and-water feature, as well as the area’s vast acres of trees.

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