THE ARCHITECTURE WHICH DEFINES OUR LANDSCAPE IS A TANGIBLE PART OF OUR COLLECTIVE HISTORY. WHEN HISTORIC STRUCTURES ARE DEMOLISHED, A PART OF OURSELVES IS RELEGATED TO MEMORY AND CONDEMNED TO BE FORGOTTEN. IN THE REDISCOVERY OF OUR ABANDONED, OFF-LIMITS, OR OTHERWISE HIDDEN ENVIRONMENTS, I DOCUMENT THEIR EXISTENCE AS WELL AS OUR OWN THROUGH THE PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE ADVENTURES PRESENTED HERE
Forest Park Hospital, formerly Deaconess Central Hospital, was founded in 1889. The hospital was constructed at its present location by the time of the World's Fair in 1904 when the world's first neonatal incubator was proudly displayed here.*
The hospital remained a non-profit institution until 1997 when it was sold to Tenent Health Care of Texas. The hospital was sold again several times during the next few years, finally ending up in the hands of Success Health Care, a joint partnership group from Florida.
Success Health Care promised to revitalize the failing hospital. But they were already mired in scandal that could inconvenience them of $500 Million. On top of this, allegations of fraud and the suicide of an investment Banker in Bermuda did not bode well.**
In April 2010, the hospital laid off 75 percent of its workforce. In May of the following year, the ER was shut down. By the end of 2011, the once-thriving 450 bed hospital was reduced to operating a 60 bed psychiatric ward as well as a laboratory and pharmacy.
It was abandoned some time in early 2012. It was demolished in 2014.
This blog is dedicated to the pursuit of adventure and features urban exploration in Saint Louis, Missouri and beyond.
1. With the exception of historical photos, all of the photographs here are copyrighted and not to be used for any purpose without my consent. The historical imagery is courtesy of the Historical Society or as otherwise noted.
2. "Don't try this at home." I absolutely will not be held responsible for anyone else's stupidity. I do not recommend anyone try visiting any of these locations. Sometimes I am granted access to the things you see here and attempting to follow in my footsteps may get you arrested, hurt or killed.
3. I do not condone or tolerate: vandalism, theft, littering or any other disrespectful activity in any of these locations. I have the utmost respect for the history of these locations and for the history of my city, Saint Louis. "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints."
4. Do not ask me for (or post) specific location information. If identifying information is not provided in the post, there's usually a good reason for that. Any information will be provided either at the time of posting, or updated years later, at my discretion.
5. Any reference to "I/me, we/us" anywhere on this blog is probably just a metaphor. Metaphors are oten employed to simplify complex technical details when storytelling. As such, they can never be considered as admission, nor proof, of guilt; They do not provide sufficient evidence as to who (or what) actually took any of the photos shown here. I/we may or may not actually exist.
