by Kelsey Koym, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian
Introduction
For over 100 years the ‘Hospital’ as Hermann became known, would undergo several expansions, name changes, and scandals. The photographs below show Hermann Hospital between 1947-1976. These photographs highlight the changing Houston skyline and evolving Texas Medical Center from after World War II until the 1970s and the Hospital’s incorporation of Life Flight. Throughout these years there have been millions who have either worked for or been treated by what is now Memorial-Hermann Texas Medical Center. A one-hundred-year-old institution, which has affected the lives of so many, deserves to have its history remembered and celebrated.
The Hermann Professional Building
Hermann Hospital was completed in 1925 whereas the building of the Hermann Professional Building began in 1947. Workers can be seen near the top of the Hermann Professional Building with Hermann Hospital in the background. The Hermann Professional Building has undergone an expansion and several renovations since its first construction. Check out McGovern’s Blog Post on the Mini-Digitization project of the Hermann Professional Building.
The TMC and Hermann Hospital Evolve
Above is a black and white aerial photograph of the Texas Medical Center from 1956. Hermann Hospital is seen near the bottom left quadrant of the photo. In the round oval section you can see the early Texas Medical Center Library. Baylor College of Medicine is visible above the street from the oval-shaped TMC Library area. The street that runs across second from the bottom of the photo is Fannin Street.
Above is a black and white aerial photograph of the Texas Medical Center from 1967. The Hermann Hospital Nurses’ Residence is visible next to Hermann Hospital in the bottom left quadrant of the photo. The Nursing School at Hermann Hospital would be dissolved in 1973. In front of the Residence across Fannin Street is the expanded Hermann Professional Building. The TMC Library has not been expanded yet and is visible across Ross Sterling Street from Hermann Hospital.
The aerial photograph above is of the Texas Medical Center from 1975. Hermann Hospital now has its “double wings” and the Hermann Hospital Nurses Residence is gone, and UT Health Medical school stands near its place. The TMC Library expansion is also visible. Baylor College of Medicine sits in the near-center of the photo. The Astro Dome is visible in the back right quadrant of the picture, which was opened to the public in 1965.
The Life Flight helicopter in the photo is one of the first models called an Alouette. In 1976 the first Life Flight mission took place. James “Red” Duke, MD and Chief Lester “Whitey” Martin were the founders of the Life Flight program, which would greatly impact patient care not just for Houston, but for those who live in the 150-mile radius of the city as well.
References:
https://memorialhermann.org/services/specialties/trauma/life-flight/history