Barnes-Jewish was formed by the merger of two hospitals, Barnes Hospital and The Jewish Hospital of St. Louis. Each hospital was built in the early 1900s in proximity to each other on the eastern edge of
Forest Park. Although the hospitals were initially linked by an affiliation agreement in 1993, the two were legally merged in 1996. Barnes Hospital was founded at the bequest of wholesale grocer and banker,
Robert Barnes, who died in 1892. In coordination between Barnes executors and St. Louis philanthropist
Robert Brookings, the hospital was intended as an affiliate for the
Washington University School of Medicine. Barnes hospital opened on December 7, 1914, at its current location on Kingshighway Boulevard. The hospital was designed by architect
Theodore Link and initially had a 373-bed capacity. It was at this time that the
St. Louis Children's Hospital, and in 1915 the reorganized school of medicine, were relocated adjacent to Barnes Hospital. Jewish Hospital was founded in 1902 by leaders of the St. Louis Jewish community in order to care for "the sick and disabled of, 'any creed or nationality.'" The hospital was originally located on 5414
Delmar Boulevard. Due to the increasing number of patients and need for expansion, in 1926 the hospital was relocated two blocks north of the Barnes Hospital/
Washington University Medical School complex. ==Heliport==