Hermann Hospital One-hundred Years: The Beginning

By Kelsey Koym, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian

Introduction

George H. Hermann gained his vast fortunes in the 19th century through the cattle business, real estate ventures, and oil speculation in Texas. Influenced by his travels to New York and Europe he endowed his estate to the founding of Hermann Hospital, which today is known as Memorial-Hermann Texas Medical Center. George wanted his money to be immortalized by investing in people who may otherwise not be able to afford medical care, and Hermann Hospital was created as a public charity hospital. In 1923 the American Construction Company would begin the groundbreaking, and on July 13, 1925 Hermann Hospital opened to the public.

Construction

The photo below is of the construction of Hermann Hospital in 1923 by the American Construction Company. Schlueter is in the bottom right corner of the photo indicating this is a Frank J. Schlueter photograph. Frank J. Schlueter was the owner and operator of his own photography company and was known for capturing the city of Houston’s changing skyline and urban development during the mid twentieth century. The back of the photograph reads, “removed from an early scrapbook.”

According to the Hermann Hospital Estate 1983 Report to the Board of Trustees, the Houston City Limits actually had to be extended, so that Hermann Hospital would be within the city of Houston according to George H. Hermann’s will. According to the same 1983 Report:

The cornerstone was stuffed with histories and roster of the local lodge chapters, copies of the newspapers published that day, a copy of George Hermann’s will and his discharge from the Confederate Army, histories and rosters of the local and state chapters of the G.A.R. and D.A.R., photographs of Houston Landmarks and streets taken at the time.

(pg. 19)

The Opening

According to the same Report from 1983, the first patient with a broken hip from slipping on a banana peel arrived by private ambulance on July 13, 1925. The below photograph is a copy of an aerial photo from 1925 of Hermann Hospital. Hermann Park is visible in the background. Cambridge and Fannin Streets are also visible in the foreground of the photo.

Fun Lore and Wolves

Below is an unused homemade Post Card of Hermann Hospital with a fence around it and a man walking away from it. The fence was built in order to keep the wolves out of the Hospital.

Hermann Hospital and the Surrounding Area

Below is a black and white photograph as Hermann Hospital was being completed. It depicts its earliest wing, the Cullen Pavilion. A person can be seen in the bottom left third of the photo. The name of the photography company is in the bottom right corner, Schlueter’s Houston Tex.

Above is a black and white photograph taken in Hermann Park with Hermann Hospital in the background. You can see people on benches in the Park, and the fence around Hermann does not exist yet. This may be one of the oldest images of Hermann Park with people.