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| The 120-bed Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, located at Euclid and Clayton Avenues, opened in April 1924. In 1919 the philanthropic Masonic fraternity, the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, had voted to establish a network of hospitals throughout North America to treat orthopedic injuries, diseases, and birth defects in children. The hospitals provided free treatment to children under the age of 14 and were supported by a yearly $2 assessment from each Shriner. The first Shriners Hospital opened in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1922. The Shriners Hospital in St. Louis moved to a new facility in St. Louis County in 1963. The Washington University School of Medicine purchased the old Shriners Hospital buildings and property, for use as research and administrative facilities. |