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City Hospital from the east, 2001
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St. Louis City Hospital was the city's primary public hospital. For most of the 20th Century, it operated out of this multi-level, multiple-building complex, whose earliest structures dated from 1906. By the time it reached its developmental apex in 1970, it included 12 buildings total (7 of which survive today.)
The imposing Georgian facade of the Administration Building has long welcomed travellers arriving from the south on Interstates 55 and 44. But the complex was abandoned in 1985, when the City Hospital was moved to a central location on Delmar Avenue. Over the next 15 years, the skeletal cupolas of the main building - stripped of their copper by metal-scrounging theives - become the building's most eyecatching aspect.
In 2002, selective demolition began, in anticipation of the complex's long-hoped for renovation. Work halted for a long period afterwards, and finally resumed in 2005; the first condominiums opened in 2006. The complex has been re-christened "The Georgian". Renovation of other buildings on the site has been slower, but continues to push forward in early 2012.
Other sites on City Hospital:
StLouisCityHospital.org contains a thorough history of the complex, photos of the demolished portions, and an account of a visit to the abandoned buildings.
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