Ida Rudisill Sanitarium/Dennis Pevoto Baptist Sanitarium/Memorial Hospital At 602 Lamar St.

[Highrise Tower]

I was looking at the Standard Blue Book of Texas Houston Edition dated 1907-1908 and came across a few cool, old, hospitals.

The book indicates an address of 602 Lamar Avenue.

I went onto researching more and found an article in the newspaper The Houston Post dated November 27, 1903 that had an address of 810 Walker Avenue.  I am not sure which one is accurate. Or perhaps there were was an earlier version of the sanitarium?  For this thread, I will choose the Walker address since it's more concrete.  Although, the other article has a photograph of the building, so that must be accurate too!

Convenience and hope comforts. Trained nurses in attendance.
Rates 2.00 to 5.00 per day.
S.W. Telephone 1374.

Ida J. Rudisill Sanitarium.
Mrs. Ida J. Rudisill, Proprietous.
810 Walker Avenue Houston, Tex.

I then found an article that states George Hermann and this person named "D.R." was interested in buying the hospital.  A little confusing, to me, but this was one of the first Hermann Hospitals? I know that Hermann Hospital started out as a Baptist hospital in a downtown tower.  So maybe this predates the big downtown hospital? wow!!

From the book The Texas Gulf Historical and Biographical Record, Volume 45, November 2009:

D.R. Approached Houston oilman and philanthropist George H. Hermann, who was interested in a hospital but not one controlled by Baptists. Timely assistance from a woman at First Baptist finally enabled Houston Baptists to move forward. For $18,000 D.R. Secured the Rudisill Sanitarium, an eighteen-bed facility in downtown Houston, from Mrs. Ida J. Rudisill.

Rechristened the Baptist Sanitarium and Hospital, it was chartered in September 1907, the first such Baptist institute in Texas. D.R. Was named superintendent, but Mrs. Rudisill “was in reality the manager or the four years she remained with the institute,” giving the Baptists time to learn what they were doing.

[Highrise Tower]

I'm confused.  From HAIF, I found: Memorial Hospital At 602 Lamar Street. This downtown tower houses the first Hermann Hospital and Shriner's Hospital.

How did that small, 2-story sanitarium at 602 Lamar Street become this giant hospital? I guess that's just the city progress of 47 years? (1903/1950)

Or perhaps the address was really incorrect? The right address for the 2-story sanitarium is actually 810 Walker Ave.

I might be misunderstanding the whole George Hermann/Baptist Hospital thing.  He did not want a Baptist hospital, but bought one?

Photograph was taken in the 1950s.

[Highrise Tower]

I found it! There's a thread on HAIF about the Baptist Sanitarium & Hospital located at 1101 Smith Street.

The Ida J. Rudisill Sanitarium was bought and became Baptist Sanitarium & Hospital.

Founded in 1907 by Rev. Dennis Pevoto as the Baptist Sanitarium began as a two-story, wood-framed building at the end of the trolley line on Lamar and Smith. It had 17 beds and eight trained nurses on staff. It was the second general hospital established in Houston after St. Joseph Hospital which opened in 1887.

The Baptist Sanitarium Training School for Nurses was the first chartered nursing school in the city, graduating its first class in 1909.

[JBM]

I have a copy of a birth certificate from March 22, 1928 of a baby born at Baptist Hospital at 602 Lamar.  The doctor that delivered the baby was T C (E?) Dusmam, MD, 1302 Med. Arts Bldg.

Edited November 25, 2022 by JBM