Founded as the Scottish Rite Convalescent Home for Crippled Children, the Old Scottish Rite Hospital served

indigent Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

children, either crippled, or recovering from surgery at

Piedmont Hospital Piedmont Atlanta Hospital is a 643 bed, non-profit hospital located at 1968 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, Georgia. History Piedmont was established in 1905 as the Piedmont Sanitarium, the successor to Amster's private sanitorium, in the former mansi ...

or Wesley Memorial Hospital (now

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

Hospital).

Michael Hoke Michael Hoke (1874 – 1944) was a leading orthopedic surgeon who pioneered the advance of the science for disabled children throughout the United States. The son of American Civil War Maj. Gen. Robert F. Hoke, Michael Hoke spent his childho ...

, M.D., was named the first Medical Director. The Home was originally a rented cottage in Decatur,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, with six beds. As the "Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children", six of its buildings are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

History

In 1913, Ed Roberts, while serving as a member of a train crew out of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia, was involved in a train wreck that both crushed his leg and dislocated his hip. Roberts returned to Atlanta to convalesce. Roberts contacted

Forrest Adair Forrest Adair (1865 – 1936) was a real estate dealer. He was the son of real-estate and streetcar developer Col. George Washington Adair and lived in Atlanta, Georgia He served as Fulton County (Georgia) Commissioner from 1895 until 1903. A ...

, a friend, and fellow

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

member. During that same year, Michael Hoke, M.D., cured Mrs. William C. "Bertie" Wardlaw's young nephew, a college student, of a serious bone infection. To honor Dr. Hoke, Wardlaw started raising money to open a crippled children's hospital. With the aid of longtime friend and financier Forrest Adair, she approached the Scottish Rite Freemasons for their help in underwriting the proposed hospital. To honor the Masons' contributions, Wardlaw added "Scottish Rite" to the facility's name. In 1915, the hospital opened as Scottish Rite Convalescent Hospital for Crippled Children.

Expansion

The Convalescent Home soon expanded two rented cottages after funds were raised for the care of needy children by Mrs. Wardlaw and other philanthropic Atlantans (most notable Scottish Rite Masons). The facility could house 18 patients (20 if needs pressed).

New buildings

A new building was designed by two architects,

Neel Reid Joseph Neel Reid (October 23, 1885 – February 14, 1926), also referred to as Neel Reid, was a prominent architect in Atlanta, Georgia, in the early 20th century as a partner in his firm Hentz, Reid and Adler. Reid was born in Jacksonville, Al ...

and Hal Hentz, of the firm Hentz, Reid and Adler in Atlanta, Georgia. The building was completed in 1919, and could originally serve 50 patients. Along with a new facility came a new name: Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children. Until the 1930s, few

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...

were available to treat crippling childhood diseases so the original hospital design reflected the emphasis then given to providing young patients with plenty of sunshine and fresh air. The

Georgian Revival Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...

style buildings were designed with a southern exposure, allowing for plenty of sunshine. The ward buildings on each side of the central administration building included generous windows, including

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

windows above the main roof-line to provide additional interior light. The buildings were sited to allow ventilation in warm weather. The design also included light and air-filled areas for play and rest. Each ward had a glass-enclosed sun or play room. Sliding glass doors fronted each ward and originally led to screened porches. Bedridden children could be wheeled onto these porches or even onto paved terraces in front, to rest or play in the open air. When new medicines that became available to treat childhood diseases in the 1940s the importance of the screened porches was reduced. Steel

casement window A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges at the side. They are used singly or in pairs within a common frame, in which case they are hinged on the outside. Casement windows are often held open using a cas ...

s have enclosed these porches since that time. Two other main buildings were added later. A service annex, built prior to World War II is a one-storied addition attached to the north side of the administration building. Nurses quarters were built following World War II to the east of the hospital in a separate building. A property with five

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

was listed on the

in 1982 as "Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children". Another NRHP listing, also for "Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children", at the same address and with the same property area but including just one contributing building, was added in 2004. The building and property were abandoned. The

Community Center of South Decatur A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, to ...

was incorporated in 1979 to facilitate the redevelopment of the old Scottish Rite Children's Hospital. The size of the facility, and the cost of its maintenance, led to a decline in the condition of the property owing to a lack of financial resources. In 1997, the City of Decatur began looking for a developer for the Scottish Rite property who would work to rehabilitate the historic buildings, provide new single-family housing for the neighborhood, help to enhance the Oakhurst business district, return some part of the property to the tax roles. Progressive Redevelopment Incorporated and the Housing Resource Center submitted a plan for the site: the rehabilitation and adaptive re-use of the property, including the construction of 14 new accessible

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

units for people from the

Shepherd Center Shepherd Center is a private, not-for profit hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1975, the 152-bed hospital focuses on the medical treatment, research and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injury and disease, acquired brain injury, ...

who have a temporary or permanent disabilities, and the introduction of new single family affordable homes. From December 1997-March 1999, the building's east wing was rented by the West Hill Concept Union, a collective of visual and performance artists, who used it as a studio, exhibition and performance space. During that time, the building hosted 10 shows and events, including seminal performances by the Theodor Adorno Jazz Quartet.

Modern usage

Now the buildings are not a hospital. A full-service bar is located in the west wing. Offices are located in the main building. The east wing is leased to the Community Center of South Decatur, as is the former laundry building. The east wing is home to the Solarium, community meeting space and a rental facility for

weddings A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marria ...

and other private gatherings. The nurses quarters were sold to help finance the main building renovations, and have been converted into office space.

Different location

The hospital moved north of Atlanta, Georgia in the 1970s. The Scottish Rite Hospital merged with Egleston Children's Health Care System in 1998 to create

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) sometimes simply referred to as ''Children's'', is a not-for-profit children's healthcare system, located in the Atlanta area dedicated to caring for infants, children, teens, and young adults aged 0–2 ...

(CHOA). In 2006 CHoA and Grady Health System announced that an affiliate of CHoA would assume responsibility for the management of services at Hughes Spalding Children's Hospital.

References

* "Adair Bankruptcy", from Time Magazin

* "The Solarium: History", from the Community Center of South Decatu

* "Children's Healthcare of Atlanta", from the New Georgia Encyclopedi

* "Children's Healthcare of Atlanta History", from Children's Healthcare of Atlant

* "Historic Scottish Rite Hospital Campus", from Progressive Redevelopment, Inc

* "Scottish Rite Hospital", from masonicinfo.com

* "Photo of Mr. Forrest Adair", from Georgia Archive

External links

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
{{authority control Hospital buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Colonial Revival architecture in Georgia (U.S. state) Hospital buildings completed in 1919 Masonic buildings completed in 1919 Buildings and structures in DeKalb County, Georgia Masonic buildings in Georgia (U.S. state) Hospitals in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in DeKalb County, Georgia Children's hospitals in the United States Children's Healthcare of Atlanta