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| Firmin Desloge, a wealthy St. Louis businessman, bequeathed jointly to St. Louis University and the Sisters of St. Mary the sum of $1.25 million to be used for the construction of a hospital for medical research and instruction. The money was used to erect the Firmin Desloge Hospital on Grand Avenue, across the street from the St. Louis University School of Medicine. The hospital opened on February 3, 1933. The 206-bed hospital building was described as modified French Gothic architecture, rising 250 feet and topped by a Gothic roof of copper-covered lead. Three years later a tunnel was built under Grand Avenue connecting the hospital and medical school. In 1959 administration of Firmin Desloge Hospital shifted completely to Saint Louis University. |