Creation In February 1930,
Saint Louis University received a $1 million bequest ($ today) from the estate of Firmin Vincent Desloge, a member of the
Desloge Family in America, who provided in his will, funds for a hospital to serve St. Louis University and to replace the old St. Mary's Hospital, both in St. Louis. Desloge's wife, Lydia Desloge (née Lydia Holden Davis), donated another $100,000 to build a chapel next to the hospital. The building was designed by Study, Farrar and Majors, with Arthur Widmer, in the Modern
Gothic Revival style. Construction began in the fall of 1930, with an estimated cost of $1.25 million. Archbishop John Glennon formally laid the cornerstone of the hospital on June 22, 1931. The 250-foot structure rises ten stories above a high basement, and reflects the Modern
Gothic Revival style. The basement and first two stories are covered with ashlar limestone, projecting out from the building at the center and end blocks. These projections display Gothic pointed-arched openings and flat, slender pilasters; the central projection has a monumental porch with compound arches. Above this three-story base, the building steps back, its five divisions composed of narrow piers with double hung windows and brick spandrels. The building is crowned by a steeply pitched hipped roof of copper-covered lead, pierced with wall and roof dormers in a variety of configurations. The building was dedicated on November 3, 1933. At the ceremony, Desloge's son Firmin (III) noted that the roof was covered by lead, the source of the family's fortune, and said, "That’s a good cap on things". at Desloge Hospital Its chapel,
Desloge Chapel, was designed by the Gothic revivalist architect
Ralph Adams Cram, appointed with
stained glass by Emil Frei and sculpture by
John Angel, and consecrated later that year.
Operation Operated under the auspices of the Sisters of St. Mary, the new hospital had 206 beds: two-thirds were double-occupancy rooms and the rest private rooms — a departure from the open wards of the day. In keeping with the Desloge family dedication to service and advancement, Firmin Desloge Hospital was also specifically for African Americans, and served as a nursing school for African American women. In 1877 the Sisters of St. Mary established a 150-bed hospital at 1526 Papin called St. Mary's Infirmary for the poor. In 1933 the infirmary was opened to African Americans with African American physicians and a mix of white and African American nurses. Physicians of St. Louis University Medical School served as consultant physicians. The Sisters of St. Mary had a nursing school for African American women at St. Mary's Infirmary. The cited author above, John C Crichton as erroneously ascribed the history of St Mary's Infirmary to Firmin Desloge Hospital. In 1959, administration of Firmin Desloge Hospital shifted completely to Saint Louis University. At this time, Firmin Desloge Hospital, the Bordley Memorial Pavilion and the David P. Wohl Sr. Memorial Institute were collectively renamed
Saint Louis University Hospitals. In 1983, the Desloge family gave money to illuminate the peaked copper roof to mark the hospital's fiftieth anniversary. Continuous growth and the need for modern facilities and equipment resulted in the construction of a new hospital facility as an addition to the original structure. This new part of the hospital was built directly behind the old Firmin Desloge Hospital at a cost of $39.1 million. The first patients moved in on January 30, 1988. In 1998,
Saint Louis University sold the chapel, along with the hospital, to
Tenet Healthcare Corp., a for-profit chain based in Dallas. In 2015, the university bought back the hospital, then gave it to
SSM Health, "the
Creve Coeur-based health care system sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, formerly Sisters of Saint Mary. The facility will become SSM St. Louis University Hospital. The hospital tower continues to serve the hospital as physician offices and administrative space. The original copper-covered roof remains a St. Louis landmark and is a distinctive part of the
City of St. Louis's skyline. ==Future==