The Pensacola Hospital (also known as the Old Sacred Heart Hospital) was a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

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 ...

, located at 1010 North 12th Avenue. On February 16, 1982, it was added to 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

Pensacola Hospital, now known as the historic Sacred Heart Hospital, opened in September 1915 as the first and oldest Catholic hospital in

. The Daughters of Charity, a religious order dating back to 1633 also dedicated to care for the poor and the sick, invested over $400,000 into building and opening this facility. The Daughters community was started originally in France by

St. Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. Afte ...

and St. Louise de Marillac. Evans Brothers Construction, of

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, took one year to build this late

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

building for the Daughters to provide the residents of Pensacola with better health care. This structure is both a medical and architectural landmark. Before this hospital, Pensacola had only a scattering of local clinics in converted houses. Doctors would send patients with serious cases as far away as

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

for complicated procedures not available in Pensacola. With this facility, Pensacola had the first

surgical Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

radiological In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visib ...

bacterial Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

, and therapeutical facilities in Florida. Following the Daughters of Charity motto of "service to all", the third level of the east wing was dedicated entirely to the Creole and

Colored ''Colored'' (or ''coloured'') is a racial descriptor historically used in the United States during the Jim Crow, Jim Crow Era to refer to an African Americans, African American. In many places, it may be considered a Pejorative, slur, though it ...

population so that they could also receive hospital care. A.O. Von Herbulis, a native of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

who immigrated to the United States, designed the hospital. Using the vocabulary of English Gothic architecture, with elements such as the Tudor arches on the ends, the stone work around the front entrance, and the embattlement at the parapet, Von Herbulis created a lasting monument to health care. In 1948, following the original desire of Mother Margaret O'Keefe, Pensacola Hospital's name changed to Sacred Heart Hospital of Pensacola. In 1965,50 years in its original stone structure on 12th Avenue, the hospital relocated in 1965 to a new hospital off to Ninth Avenue to continue its operations. Since then, Sacred Heart has continued to advance its technology and expand its services. After the hospital left, a private school for Liberal Arts used the building from 1969 through 1978, but lack of maintenance forced the school to abandon the building. In 1980, Tower East Group Inc. purchased the property to preserve the historic hospital for the future.

Description

The building has several restaurants and a local theater company, as well as many private offices. Tower East Group Inc., a private enterprise, has been restoring and renovating this Late Gothic Revival landmark since March 1980. National Park Guidelines for historic preservation are followed voluntarily; however, no Federal or State funding has ever been received. Structurally, the building has received very few alterations in its history. The exterior stonework retains its Gothic appearance to this day and other original architectural details, such as the elaborate oak entrance doors, remain. It is currently home to
Montessori school
ref> and a pizza restaurant.

References

External links

Escambia County listings
Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs {{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1915 Hospitals in Florida Buildings and structures in Pensacola, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Escambia County, Florida Hospital buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida 1915 establishments in Florida