Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-28

as the Purdy, or Mr.. Purdy's building, at
the southwest corner of AZ street and
Louisiana avenue northwest, facing the
city hall This was the home Of the med
ical school for five years, 1889 to 1874
On Judiciary Square.
By act Of Congress. approved June Is,
1914, the commissioner of public buildings
was directed ''to allow the medical faculty
of Columbian College, District OF Columbia,
to occupy the insane hospital, with the adj
joining grounds, situated in the Judiciary
Square in Washington. for the purposes Of
an infirmary for medical instruction and
for scientific purposes, on condition that
they shall give satisfactory security to keep
the said building in repair, and return 1t,
with the grounds, to the government, in as
good condition as they are now in, when
ever required to do So"
This building was situated in E street
northwest, which in those days was contin-
uous through the square from Sd to 9TH
streets. The ediface fronted south and d.
rectly faced the center Of the back of the
City Hall. The body of the building was
$50 feet long, with two wings of fifty feet
each, the whole making front of $50 feet.
In the rear Of the principal building was
third wing, with rooms appropriated ex-
clusively to practical anatomy.
Here the school continued from 1874 till
1861, when, at the outbreak of the civil war
the faculty was required to relinguish the
infirmary to the government.
The old building having been burned, the
faculty rented another. known as the Con-
stitution Office, north side of E street, be-
tween 18th and 18th northwest. Here the
sessions Of the school were continued for
two years, and then they were suspended
altogether until the return OF peace In 1865.
Mr.. W. W. Corcoran's Donation.
July 20, 1865, the faculty received notice
that W. w. Corcoran had given the uni
versity for the use of its medical school,,
the edifice which he had constructed for
an art gallery, on H street between 18th
and 18th streets, the building which was
torn down to give pace to the new one
dedicated today.
The building was occupied by the War
Department of the government. 1t was the
Army Medical Museum, and Edwin NJ
Stanton, the Secretary of War, declined to
give up the building to the Medical Col
lege Arrangements were therefore made
by which the medical lectures could begin
in the law building of the Columbian Col
lege, 9TH street between D and X. The
law building in those days was church,
in which Sunday services were held. but
there were also numerous office rooms &C.
cupied by lawyers and attorneys.
The part of the law building used by the
medical faculty was the church itself. The
students sat in the pews and the profess
sors stood in the pulpit.
Not until December s. 1866, WAS the ii
street building donated by Mr.. Corcoran
relinquished by ths War Department. 1t
needed considerable reconstruction, SO mat
1t was not until October. 1867, that the lee
lures began IN the H street building
Twenty years later, In 1887, the building
was enlarged to make room for more ex-
tensive laboratories and for the establish
ment of the dental school. Fifteen years
still later. 1902, found the old edfice en-
tirely Inadequate to accommodate the in
crease of students; lecture rooms over
crowded, Laboratories altogether too small.
and, what is more, the stones In the old
structure were beginning to decay, the
walls to crumble and the floors to rot.
Repair and reconstruction were out of the
question; they could only end in an abor-
tive makeshift. The only remedy was an
entirely new structure. At last the new
college and the new hospital are IN tangible
evidence and their dedication marks in
deed an important epoch in the history of
the institution notable stage in its pro-
eressiye evolution.