Looking out the office windows at the Notarial Archives Research Center, you can see the top of the empty Charity Hospital. The twenty-story art-deco style limestone building, located along Tulane Avenue, was built in the 1930s as a Public Works Administration project. While this imposing building was the product of the New Deal era, the history of Charity Hospital dates back to the 1736. This month, the Clerk of Civil District Court Office would like to explore the long history of Charity Hospital by highlighting some of the notarial records held in our archives.
The Birth of Charity Hospital: 1736-1779
From the founding of New Orleans in 1718 to 1763, the city was under French rule. The French settlers during this early period found the environment and the climate in New Orleans to be quite deadly. Safe drinking water was scarce and infectious diseases such as yellow fever ran rampant. Due to the conditions, French officials paid close attention to matters concerning health and they worked to ensure that medical practice was regulated in the colony. In 1723, the Superior Council decreed that only medical practitioners who had been examined or appointed by the chief surgeons of the colony could practice medicine on the penalty of death. The Royal Hospital was noted to be in the city by 1722 and the Ursuline nuns took charge of it when they arrived in New Orleans in 1726.1
The operating costs of the Royal Hospital were exorbitant and because of the excessive cost it was decreed that only French military personnel and individuals employed in the King’s service could be admitted. This left much of the population, particularly the impoverished, to either fend for themselves or rely on the assistance of the Capuchin Fathers. The lack of medical care for those in need is likely what induced the French sailor Jean Louis to establish what would become Charity Hospital.
Jean Louis was a sailor and a shipbuilder who lived in New Orleans during the French Colonial Period. In his will, drawn up before a notary on November 16, 1735, he states “After my debts shall have been paid and the above wishes shall have been carried out a sale shall be made of the property, the proceeds of which I give and bequeath with my small lot of ground, to serve in perpetuity in the foundation of a Hospital for the Sick of New Orleans, no one having the right to oppose this disposition made in order to provide things necessary to the care of the sick.”2 The charter for the proposed hospital came into effect when Jean Louis died in 1736. On May 10, 1736, a house on what is now Chartres and Bienville Streets was purchased by Sr. Raguet, the executor of Jean Louis’s estate, from Joseph Villars Dubreuil for 1250 livres.3 This site would serve as the first location of Charity Hospital and was called Hospital of St. John. Charity Hospital historian, Dr. John Salvaggio, states that the hospital must have immediately opened following this sale and proved to be too small. He cites a building contract for an additional building at the site, filed a month later, as the evidence supporting this theory. 4 The contract for this additional building was executed by the notary Augustin Chantalou on June 10, 1736. According to the contract, the 45’x25’x14′ building was to be constructed as soon as possible for the price of 200 livres.5
Jean Louis’s will, the act of sale of the first Charity Hospital location, and the building contract for the additional building at the first site, are still in existence and are held at the Louisiana State Museum’s Historical Center. While the Notarial Archives Research Center does not house these particular records, it does hold eight boxes of French Colonial records including some of Augustin Chantalou’s other notarial acts. A guide to the French Colonial Records housed at the Notarial Archives Research Center can be found on our website.
By 1743, only seven years after its founding, the hospital had outgrown its facility. The Hospital of St. John was moved to a larger building on the edge the city on Basin Street. The hospital at this location continued to serve patients through the transition from French Colonial rule to Spanish Colonial rule. In 1778, a hurricane hit the city, weakening the hospital facility. The following year, another hurricane hit the city leaving the already damaged hospital building in ruins. Only the kitchen and store house remained to serve as a small six-bed hospital.6
Don Andres Almonester y Roxas and the San Carlos Hospital: 1785
The Spanish government, who had taken control of New Orleans in 1763, showed very little interest in rebuilding the hospital following the 1779 hurricane. While the Cabildo did not make an effort to rebuild, another influencial figure did, Don Andres Almonester y Roxas. Almonester was born in Spain and came to New Orleans shortly after Spain took control of Louisiana. He was a Spanish nobleman and a civil law notary. When he came to New Orleans in 1769, he was appointed by King Charles III of Spain as the royal notary. The Notarial Archives Research Center holds eighteen volumes of original notarial acts by Almonester dating from 1770-1782.
As the notary for the city and the “notary attorney” for all property transfers in the city, he had amassed an extreme amount of wealth, by 1782. Due to his success, he was able to offer 114,000 pesos fuertes to rebuild Charity Hospital in the same location. After some opposition from the Cabildo, Almonester was successfully able to see to the building of the new hospital. The third iteration of Charity Hospital opened on October 1, 1785 and was named the San Carlos Hospital, although it was often referred to as the Almonester Hospital.7 Almonester, himself, drew up a detailed constitution for the hospital based on the Spanish reglamento, which were the rules that governed Spanish royal hospitals. It was decreed that “only the poor in real distress” were to be admitted into the hospital, though other patients could be treated if they paid a daily fee.8
The necessity of Charity Hospital was made even more apparent when the United States gained control of Louisiana in 1803. The Royal Hospital was closed following the transition to US control and the population of the city was continuously increasing. Due to the increasing need for Charity, Governor Claiborne approved a legislative decree in May 1803 to develop an inspection system for flour, beef, and pork. Half of the fifty dollar fine for inspection failure went toward funding Charity Hospital.9
The San Carlos Hospital stood for twenty-four years, until September 22, 1809 when the hospital was engulfed in flames. Three patients died in the fire and those rescued were temporarily moved to the Cabildo. Charity moved to different locations until a new hospital was built.10
The Fourth Charity Hospital: 1815
The state officially assumed full responsibility of Charity Hospital in 1813 and it was at this time that the need to build a new hospital became dire. The city population exploded due to an influx of immigrants. Many arrived in New Orleans already ill and came to Charity to receive treatment.11 On June 21, 1814, a representative from the City of New Orleans and the administration of Charity Hospital came before the notary Marc Lafitte to purchase a property along Canal Street where the Roosevelt Hotel stands today. An image of the act of sale, written in French, can be seen below.
Attached to this act of sale was a plan showing the property that would serve as the new location of Charity Hospital. This plan can be seen below.
The new hospital was completed and in operation by 1815 and would be the first location to actually be named Charity Hospital. A drawing of the building can be seen below.
The new hospital was described to be “vast and commodious…capable of caring for 120 patients.”12 Despite the new building, conditions in the hospital were subpar. Many complained that Charity “served no other purpose than to confine the wretched and compel them to die in a place contrary to their choice.” The hospital also had too few attendants and too little equipment. 13 The new hospital was better than the makeshift facilities they utilized in the five years after the destruction of the San Carlos Hospital, but it still did not meet the needs of the community. Because of this there was a new drive to plan a larger more adequate hospital beginning in 1827.14
The Fifth Charity Hospital: 1833
By 1827, hospital administrators began to make plans for a new hospital that could accommodate more patients and provide more adequate facilities for treatment. On November 30, 1830, before the notary Felix de Armas, Charity Hospital acquired the property along what is now Tulane Avenue. An image of this original acquisition, written in French, can be seen below.
Following this property acquisition, construction on the new hospital began in 1831. While the new hospital was being constructed. Charity administrators sold the old hospital on Canal Street to the State of Louisiana. On March 20, 1832 representatives of the Louisiana State Government and Charity Hospital came before the notary William Christy to execute the property sale. The State bought the old hospital for $125,000 which is equal to $4,327,194 today. An image of the property sale can be seen below.
Shortly after the State purchased the old hospital facility, the governor of Louisiana, Bienvenu Roman came before the notary Louis T. Caire to file a building contract on August 11, 1832. The purpose of the building contract was to “make alterations and repairs required to fit the Charity Hospital for a State House.” An image of the building contract can be seen below.
Attached to this contract was also a list of specification for the repairs and alterations. An image of those specifications can be seen below.
The new Charity Hospital was completed by 1833 and began to see new patients. In an effort to eliminate political problems, Charity administrators asked the Daughters of Charity, a Catholic religious organization, to take over the hospital’s management. The Daughters of Charity accepted the offer on January 6, 1834 and had involvement with the hospital well into the 20th century.15
A plan book plan created by John Schreiber, dated for 1837, shows the footprint of the fifth Charity Hospital on the left side on Common Street, which is now Tulane Avenue. This plan can be seen below.
The building that was built in 1833 served as Charity Hospital for a century. Throughout that time, multiple additions, and repairs were made to the property. On January 12, 1841, before the notary William Christy, Charity Hospital contracted with James Gallier to construct a three-story wing of Charity Hospital to treat the mentally ill. The work was to be completed by the first day of July and done for the cost of $24,400. An image from this contract can be seen below.
On January 2, 1847, James Gallier was again contracted to build an amphitheater at Charity Hospital. The building contract, seen below, was filed in the office of the notary William Christy. A list of specifications for the structure was also included in the contract.
On December 7, 1855, before the notary Theodore Stark, the builders Harrington and Armstrong were contracted by Charity Hospital to build a two-story brick stable on the Charity grounds. An image of this act can be seen below.
On July 20, 1860, before the notary James Graham, Charity Hospital contracted James Gallier to construct a two-story brick building on the grounds of Charity Hospital. The work was to be completed by October 20th and done for the cost of $15,500. Specifications for the work were also included in the act. Images of the contract can be seen below.
On June 27, 1894, before the notary Hewes Gurley, Charity Hospital contracted Louis LeSassier to build a surgical building for Charity Hospital for the cost of $24,987. Images of the contract, an attached blueprint, and the attached 22-page specifications booklet can be seen below.
The Sixth Charity Hospital
By the 20th century, Charity tended to operate at full capacity providing free medical care to those in need. 2,000 beds were occupied on a daily basis. The majority of patients in New Orleans were treated by Charity Hospital until about 1920, when private institutions such as Southern Baptist Hospital, now Oschner Baptist, were opened. The population of New Orleans increased thirtyfold between 1832 and 1926, while the bed capacity at Charity had barely doubled. It was well known that many wards in the hospital were forced to place two patients in a bed. Charity Hospital served an average of 2,780 patients daily with only 1,814 beds to place them in. Due to the dire need for a larger hospital and the crumbling state of the century-old building, efforts to replace it beginning in 1923.16
Much political infighting occurred between Governor Huey Long, the Federal Government, and the New Orleans Medical board, but in 1936 a project funded largely through the Public Works Administration (PWA),was approved. The old Charity Hospital along Tulane Avenue was demolished and work on the new building began in July 1937 in the same location.
The architectural firm Weiss, Dreyfous, and Seiferth, the same firm who built the Louisiana State capital building a few years prior, was contracted to build the new Charity Hospital. The building was constructed of Alabama limestone, steel, and reinforced concrete. It was 20-stories tall and covered 57,000 square feet. The new hospital was completed by July 1939. In addition to the main hospital building, a 14-story school of nursing was built as were ambulances houses, workshops, and warehouses. At the time of its construction, “Big Charity” was the second largest hospital in the United States.17
The early 1950s brought a period of demolition and construction to the Charity Hospital campus. A building dedicated to contagious disease isolation was renovated and a new physical therapy school was established. Major renovations were also made to the main building. The entire 3rd floor was renovated and became devoted to psychiatric patient care. This era of renovation and construction is evidence by a property exchange between the City of New Orleans and Charity Hospital. On September 9, 1951, the City of New Orleans and Charity hospital executed an Act of Exchange before the notary Jacob Morrison. In this act, seen below, the city gave pieces of property that were formerly streets to Charity Hospital in exchange for property located in the First District in Square 406.
A survey attached to the act of exchange shows the property being given to the hospital.
Charity Hospital saw its fair share of ups and downs throughout the latter half of the 20th century but it persisted and continued to provide free medical care to the residents of New Orleans. In 1996, Charity Hospital was named a Level 1 Trauma Center which meant they had beds, equipment, and a full list of surgical specialists on hand to deal with any emergency that would come through the doors. It also had strong education, research and community outreach programs.18 In 1997, the the administration of Charity Hospital was transferred to Louisiana State University.
Hurricane Katrina and the Future of Charity Hospital
Throughout the years, Charity saved hundreds of thousands of lives in New Orleans and was a vast training ground for thousands of doctors and nurses. However, tragedy struck in 2005. During Hurricane Katrina, the basement of Charity Hospital was flooded and the hospital was shut down. In the weeks following Hurricane Katrina, a temporary clinic named the Spirit of Charity opened at the New Orleans Convention Center and was later moved to New Orleans Centre, now Benson Tower. While many hospital officials stated that the hospital was capable of reopening at its Tulane location, it never did. The Spirit of Charity and the services provided by Charity Hospital were taken over by LSU’s University Hospital. In 2015, LSU’s University Medical Center was opened and the Spirit of Charity was integrated into the center. The trauma center remains a Level 1 Trauma center and continues to care for over 3,000 Trauma patients annually.19
On November 29, 2021, Tulane University entered into a long-term lease of the Charity Hospital property on Tulane Avenue. This lease can be seen below.
This lease kickstarted a redevelopment plan spearheaded by Tulane University. According to a November 22, 2022 news report, Charity is to become the heart of Tulane’s downtown medical school. Tulane intends on making the building Tulane’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine as well as housing research labs, Tulane’s Innovation Institute, and their School of Professional Advancement. It also include plans for 300 apartments and retail space.20
While the name and location has changed multiple times in the nearly 300 years of Charity’s history, it remains the second oldest continually operating hospital in the United States of America. These records are just a sampling of what the Clerk’s office has to offer when researching the history of Charity Hospital. If there are any particular interests that you would like to learn more about, please contact the Clerk’s Office. We are happy to assist.
References:
- John Salvaggio, MD. New Orleans’ Charity Hospital (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press), 7-8.
- Last Will and Testament of Jean Louis, French Superior Council, New Orleans, Province of Louisiana, Louisiana Historical Center, November 16, 1735 https://lacolonialdocs.org/document/2465
- Act of sale from Joseph Dubreuil to Sr. Raguet. French Superior Council, New Orleans, Province of Louisiana, Louisiana Historical Center, May 10, 1736, https://lacolonialdocs.org/document/2569
- John Salvaggio, MD. New Orleans’ Charity Hospital (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press), 12.
- Contract for Building Hospital for the Poor. French Superior Council, New Orleans, Province of Louisiana, Louisiana Historical Center, June 10, 1736, https://lacolonialdocs.org/document/2588
- “Charity Hospital Timeline through 1736-2021” LCMC Health, Accessed December 19, 2022, https://www.lcmchealth.org/sub/59170/documents/Charity-Hospital-Timeline.pd
- John Salvaggio, MD. New Orleans’ Charity Hospital (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press), 21-22.
- Ibid, 23.
- Ibid, 32.
- “Charity Hospital Timeline through 1736-2021” LCMC Health, Accessed December 19, 2022, https://www.lcmchealth.org/sub/59170/documents/Charity-Hospital-Timeline.pdf
- John Salvaggio, MD. New Orleans’ Charity Hospital (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press), 35.
- Ibid, 39.
- Ibid, 39.
- Ibid, 67.
- Ibid, 67.
- Ibid, 97-99.
- Ibid, 132-133.
- John Pope, “LSU Hospital wins Level 1 designation for emergency Room,” The Times-Picayune, Last Modified June 25, 2019, https://www.nola.com/news/article_d1a40eb8-2010-5efa-8ecd-6a7544b93f91.html
- “Charity Hospital Timeline through 1736-2021” LCMC Health, Accessed December 19, 2022, https://www.lcmchealth.org/sub/59170/documents/Charity-Hospital-Timeline.pd
- Sam Winstrom, “Abandoned NOLA: Old Charity Hospital shows signs of life,” WWL, Last Modified November 16, 2022, https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/orleans/charity-hospital-tulane-redevelopment-timeline-update/289-e689ce63-8118-4f0e-a2a7-d3893ea90022
Chelsey Richard Napoleon, Clerk of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans 