For years, a landmark 12-story building with large lighted crosses stood on South Main Street, just west of Interstate 35W, as a monument to quality (and charitable) healthcare.
St. Joseph's Infirmary was Fort Worth's first hospital, growing out of an infirmary established for the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company and taken over in 1885 by the San Antonio-based Congregation of Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. It later became St. Joseph Hospital, caring for people from all walks of life.It served the community for more than 100 years and, according to the Texas Historical Commission, in 1980 became the site of Tarrant County's first hospice program for terminally ill patients.St. Joseph closed as a hospital in 1995, and for a short while there were plans to turn it into apartments and office and retail space. For a brief time, it was an Alzheimer's center.The Tarrant County Hospital District bought the vacant building in 2008 with plans for JPS Network's expanding facility needs. While the historic site is likely to be part of the future of medical service for Tarrant County's indigent, demolition crews today are tearing down all but the garage on the six-acre site.Until JPS decides what to build there, it will become a green space. Last week, the hospital district issued requests for proposals for general construction and other work for the "JPS Health Network St. Joseph's Garden."Many in the area have fond memories of the old Catholic hospital, but there's no reason to lament its physical passing to make way one day for a more modern facility that still will carry on the mission of those sisters who came here more than 115 years ago. A JPS representative said Tuesday that there will be memorials in place to honor the history and tradition of Fort Worth's oldest hospital.That's as it should be.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
