Firmin Desloge Tower (built as Firmin Desloge Hospital) is a building in St. Louis, Missouri. It was built from 1930 to 1933 on Grand Avenue between Vista Avenue and Rutger Avenue as a hospital operated by the Jesuits of Saint Louis University and the Sisters of Saint Mary for the poor and others in need. It was funded by a donation from lead-mining millionaire Firmin V. Desloge. Administration of the hospital passed to Saint Louis University in the 1950s, and it served as the main building of Saint Louis University Hospital—today, St. Louis University Medical Center—until a new hospital was built and opened in 2020.
History
Creation
In February 1930, Saint Louis University received a $1 million bequest ($ today) from the estate of Firmin Vincent Desloge,the original, fully executed bequest documents in the possession of the Missouri Historical Society Archives, St. Louis, MO, Joseph Desloge Collection 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.The Society of Architectural Historians, Missouri valley Chapter, Volume XIV, Number 2, Summer 2008, page 5. Desloge's wife, Lydia Desloge (née Lydia Holden Davis), donated another $100,000 to build a chapel next to the hospital.This second gift was reported by the Globe-Democrat on February 15, 1931 (archives of the Globe Democrat, Mercantile Library, St. Louis, MO)
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".The Desloge Chronicles
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.Our St. Louis Hospitals, Ray M Knefl, Souvenier of the 37th Annual Convention of the American Hospital Association, 1937. St. Louis County Library, Reference dept. R 977.866 K68S 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.The History of Health Services in Missouri, John C Crighton, Barnhartt Press, Omaha, Neb., 1993, page 227 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. (Author John C. Crichton, cited above, erroneously ascribed the history of St Mary's Infirmary to Firmin Desloge Hospital.)
In 1959, Saint Louis University took over the administration of Firmin Desloge Hospital. The hospital, along with Bordley Memorial Pavilion and the David P. Wohl Sr. Memorial Institute, were collectively renamed Saint Louis University Hospital.
In 1983, the Desloge family gave money to illuminate the peaked copper roof to mark the hospital's fiftieth anniversary.St. Louis University Hospital Newsletter [printed], Article: "Rededication", Fall 1983, St. Louis University (library) Archives
To expand and improve services, Saint Louis University Hospital built a large addition to the tower for $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 repurchased back the hospital, then gave it to SSM Health, a non-profit health care system created by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, formerly Sisters of Saint Mary.Samantha Liss, "Hospital deal will bolster SSM, SLU Hospital." St. Louis Post-Dispatch. June 2, 2015. The facility became SSM St. Louis University Hospital.
The building was converted to physician offices and administrative space.
Building, imperiled In October 2015, SSM Health announced plans to spend $500 million to rebuild and expand the hospital. Among the options mooted were demolishing the 1933 tower.
Desloge scion Christopher Desloge launched an effort to preserve the hospital building and chapel, perhaps by adaptive uses including, for example, a museum to the African American experience in healthcare and nursing in St. Louis.KMOX Radio Interview with Christoper Desloge, aired Dec. 8, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAwvpXWUMSQSamantha Liss, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 2, 2016. http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/desloge-offers-ideas-to-ssm-to-preserve-slu-hospital-tower/article_2d1e33ce-bbda-5a7e-9f6b-6bb7b6e82840.html Support for its preservation was offered by the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects,Letter dated November 23, 2015 from Michelle C Swatek Executive Director St Louis Chapter AIA to William P Thompson President and CEO SSM Health 10101 Woodfield Lane St Louis Missouri, copy of letter at Landmarks Association of St Louis, the Les Amis historical organization,Letter from Les Amis to SSM, October 25, 2015 and the Landmarks Association of St. Louis, whose executive director said, "In the pantheon of St. Louis architecture and signature buildings, these are really way up there." The executive director also asserted that the building would be "considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and classified as "High Merit" under the terms of the St. Louis City Preservation Ordinance (64689)".
In February 2016, a letter urging the hospital's preservation was sent to SSM from 31 groups, including the Landmarks Association, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Preservation Research Office, American Institute of Architects, Foundation for Commercial Philanthropy, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, US Representative Russ Carnahan, the Society of Architectural Historians, and numerous neighborhood associations and alderpersons.Landmarks Assn Stakeholders Signatories to SSM Separately, the Foundation for Commercial Philanthropy, a not-for-profit organization of the Christopher Desloge family, proposed to lease several floors of the tower for a nonprofit incubation center, to seek millions of dollars in historic tax credits, and to launch a campaign to raise $15 million to $20 million. Desloge and Landmarks Association of St. Louis director Andrew Weil said this would eliminate the financial burden on SSM.
In May 2016, the Landmarks Association called Firmin Desloge Hospital and Chapel the city's most endangered historical buildings.
In September 2016, the St. Louis City Planning & Urban Design Agency’s Planning Commission convened to evaluate SSM's proposal to rehab Desloge Tower for medical offices.Alex Inhen, NextStl, , accessed 9/9/2016
In November 2016, St. Louis University released to the St. Louis Planning Commission a $750 million redevelopment plan for 400 acres in midtown St. Louis, an area that encompasses Desloge Hospital Tower. Uses within the area include medical and educational uses including offices and training facilities for those in the health care and life sciences; classrooms and related instructional, laboratory, research, hospice, nursery and day care spaces; and pharmacy facilities. Office facilities for private, public and non-profit institutions, businesses and agencies; research facilities. The planning commission unanimously approved the plan.St. Louis University News, accessed 11/16/2016 By late 2016, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the building "appears safe for now. The plan doesn't call for tearing it down.
Today The building, now called Firmin Desloge Tower, houses medical offices and administrative space.
References
External links Hospital Information Page Les Amis organization Landmarks Association of St. Louis Fox 2 News St. Louis KSDK News St. Louis STL Today St. Louis St. Louis Public Radio