CITY (COMMERCIAL) HOSPITAL
Medical College of Ohio founder Daniel Drake, a
physician and scientist, realized that hands on experience with the sick and
dying was an essential part of learning medicine. So, in 1821, he obtained a
charter to establish the Commercial Hospital and Lunatic Asylum. The principle
building was constructed in 1823 on four acres between Plum and Central Aves. & 12th and Ann Sts.
This structure had four stories, including a basement and another two story
addition was added in 1827, with the first floor for men and the second floor
for women. After another addition was added in 1833 the capacity was 150 beds.
It was located next to the canal which
you can clearly see in the last row (Music Hall was on the other side of the
canal and one block north). The complex was acquired by the city in 1861 and the
name was changed to Commercial Hospital of Cincinnati. The name was changed
again in 1868 to Cincinnati Hospital. These buildings were razed in
December 1866 and a new building with a capacity of 500 beds was built in 1869.
This final complex consisted of eight buildings
connected by corridors and surrounding a large central court 400' square, (with
a fountain). It was replaced by General Hospital which is now called
University Hospital.
GENERAL (CITY) HOSPITAL
Located on Burnet Ave. between Goodman
St. and Eden & Elland Aves. it was constructed between 1909 and 1915. This
complex replaced the old and overcrowded Commercial Hospital that had been
located downtown, (see cards above). There were 25 buildings on 65 acres. The
idea of the building layout was to isolate various diseases, and if the
contagion could not be contained, the individual buildings could be burnt down.
The buildings were connected by an underground tunnel system. Also
included in this complex were the County Morgue and the Police Department's
Bureau of Crime Detection. You can see the German Altenheim, (old men's home) on
the bottom right and Bethesda Hospital on the far right in the fourth card,
(Bethesda can also be seen in the 3rd card). Jewish Hospital although not seen
is across the street along the bottom of this card. Rollman Hospital would be on
the left side, not seen. The Children's Hospital, Deaconess Hospital, V. A.
Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital and Christ Hospital are also in this area. Any
wonder this area is called Pill Hill?.
Major new facilities were erected during
the 1960s. In 1979 administration of the hospital was transferred to the
University of Cincinnati thus becoming University Hospital.
Not a postcard
1915 Hospital Layout
Not a
postcard
Located in the northwest quadrant (upper-right) the contagious ward consists of 6 buildings which was actually a separate hospital in itself. All contagious diseases were treated here. There was an administration building, a nurses' home, a detention ward building, and three ward buildings. Another building would later take care of special diseases, such as smallpox, would be treated.
The cards above and below all show the same group of buildings. In front is the administration building, on the left is ward A, behind the administration building is the receiving ward and the clinic, and barely seen on the right is ward H. The street is Burnet Avenue.
The center image is a photograph of the Nurses Home at 311 Albert Sabin Way. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 10, 2005.
U.C. Medical Center
Complex
U.C. College Of Nursing & Health
GERMAN DEACONESS HOSPITAL
Located next to Hughes High School at
311 Straight Street. In 1888 ministers of several German American Protestant
denominations created the Deaconess Society. This organization opened a 27 bed
hospital on East Liberty Street under the direction of two deaconesses-women who
had received medical training and had chosen a life of service to the church and
its institutions. In 1896 the society took over the management of the Ohio
Maternity Hospital on West Liberty Street, maintaining both facilities. Lack of
space forced them in 1901 to build a 70 bed facility in Clifton which opened in
1903.
The newer building in the last card was erected in 1925-1926
and is the oldest surviving part of the hospital. All the old buildings to the
right of it were demolished and in 1975-1976 a 12 story wing was built. The
building you see on the left is Hughes High School.
GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL
Good Samaritan began as the 20 bed St.
John's Hospital for Invalids that the Sisters of Charity opened in 1852 in one
of Woodward's old school buildings at Broadway and Woodward Streets. They soon
moved to a larger building at 3rd and Plum Streets which was called St.
John's Hospital. In 1866 two non-Catholic Cincinnatians donated money for the
sisters to buy the old Marine Hospital at Locke and Sixth Streets, which the
federal government had built during the Civil War. This donation stipulated that the facility be renamed The Hospital of the Good
Samaritan. This is the hospital you see in the first row.
Needing a newer facility the Sisters of Charity
purchased the present site in Clifton in 1907. The initial structure was
completed in 1915 with the two wings being added in 1926, the nurses residence
was added in 1927 & 1945. In 1926 the nursing school became the nursing department of
the College of Mount St. Joseph. In 1982, the old wings were replaced by new ones.
The Marydale Gardens were located behind the main building
and was a gift of Senator Robert H. O'Brien in 1928.
Marydale Coffee Shop
Newer representative drawing
FOR MORE HOSPITALS
