Explored the Abandoned St. Vincent’s Hospital in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Always freak myself out visiting these places! The previous owner, Verity Health System, filed for bankruptcy in 2018, and ultimately announced it would shutter the hospital on January 6, 2019. Now it sits empty being rented to the studios.
A little history of St. Vincent’s Hospital…
The Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul established the first hospital in Los Angeles - the Los Angeles Infirmary, in 1856. It was located in the Sonora Town adobe owned by then-Mayor of Los Angeles, Don Cristo´bal Aguilar. Four years later, in 1860, the hospital relocated to 1416 Naud Street, between Ann (named for Sister Ann) and Sotillo Street (though other data indicates the location was 1414 Naud Street, between N. Main and San Fernando Road). In 1869, Daughters incorporated the Los Angeles Infirmary under their own ownership, the first women in the region to do so. In 1883 they purchased six and a half acres of land at Beaudry Park at a cost of $10,000, and a new hospital building was erected a year later at Beaudry and Sunset, on a hillside overlooking Sonora Town. By 1898, Los Angeles Infirmary had come to be known as Sisters Hospital, but both names were used interchangeably in reference to the same hospital; in 1918, the name was officially changed to St. Vincent's Hospital. In 1924 a new building was erected on 3rd and Alvarado, which was built by John C. Austin and Frederick M. Ashley. For 47 years, the hospital had such a steady growth that they were forced to expand yet again, and groundbreaking for a newer, larger building took place in 1971 - this time, located at 2131 W. 3rd Street. With a "new" hospital came a new name, and in 1974, it changed again, this time becoming St. Vincent Medical Center. Through the years the hospital has had many "firsts": in 1957 the first successful open-heart surgery was performed; in 1960, it was the first to use a surgical microscope to operate on the inner ear; in 1962, the first to offer hemodialysis to kidney failure patients; in 1966, the first artificial heart transplant and human heart transplantation were performed; in 1988, first heart transplant took place at S. Vincent Medical Center; in 1993, pancreatic cell transplant to overcome diabetes was performed; and in 1995, the Liver Transplant Program was founded. Although St. Vincent's is the oldest medical institution in Los Angeles, it has evolved with the years to serve the people of this fine city. In 2006, St. Vincent Medical Center celebrated 150 years of service.
Architects John C. Austin and Frederic M. Ashley designed this 1924 Italianate style St. Vincent's Hospital building, located at 2131 West Third Street, which is no longer standing.
28 сен 2024
