The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-09-07
(Communicated.)

A temple of mercy is the new st.
Mary's Hospital of Minneapolis. De-
signed and equipped to the last de-
tail for the effective ministry of
mercy, dedicated to the Mother of
| Mercy, and directed by the Sisters of
st. Joseph, whose lives are conse-
Grated to the spiritual and corporal
works of mercy, the beautiful build
ing to be opened in a few days is, in
very truth, a temple of mercy. 1t
stands in a quiet spot above the right
bank of the Mississippi, where the
great river flows through the eastern
confines of the Flour City, and from
it's lofty, park like grounds, it looks
serenely across the wide sweep of
Minnesota University.
If one might ever enjoy "the luxury
of being sick it would surely be in
such an institution as the new ST.
Mary's Hospital. Every room and
corridor, every floor and wall and bed
and window is designed to give ease
and comfort to the ailing; from the
chapel to the engine-room the edifice
is a unit harmoniously organized to
serve every need of the patients. 1t
might fittingly be called a patients
palace.
The old hospital of st, Mary which
stands near by is dwarfed into a
mere annex by the massive proper
tions of the splendid structure just
CONF leted. The main body Of the new
building is two hundred and seventy
feet long with the wings, giving it a
maximum depth of one hundred and
eighty feet. 1t is of reinforced con-
crete construction throughout it's six
stories, the walls being faced with
golden-rod brick laid in Flemish bond
| The structure is designed to house
! two hundred and twenty-five patients
with every provision made for their
| treatment, care and recovery. But it
| is not alone in size that the new hos
pital outranks the old one. Medicine
and surgery, the builders art, the
physical sciences, all have made
progress since the old ST. Mary's was
erected more than quarter of a
century ago, and the architect of the
new st. Mary's has been eminently
successful in weaving harmoniously
into his plans the latest and best ideas
to be cleaned from the chemist, the
surgeon, and the physicist wherever
these touch the building trades.
John H. Wheeler of st. Paul drew
the plans of the hospital which has
been erected by the Haglin-Stahr Co.
of Minneapolis at a cost of approx
mately 100000. The plumbing and
the installation of the heating plant
were done by the H. Kelly Co., which
also put in the vacuum cleaner and
the fan and vacuum ventilation sys
TENS. The Northwestern Marble and
Tile Co. has laid 250,000 square feet OF
terrazzo floor. The extensive wiring
throughout the entire plant for al
electric appliances was done by the
Minneapolis Electrical Equipment
Company, while the NJ. J. Grady Fix
ture Manufacturing Company supplied
the beautiful light fixtures which at
tract SO much attention from every
one who visits the hospital
History of st. Marys.
J The. origin and growth of the hos
pital forms an interesting chapter il
the history of the village and the city
, of Minneapolis. Captain Edward
Murphy, big-hearted, broad-minded
| nj hryil hn
, which eventually became St. Mary''
, Hospital. He was the son of Captain
J Murphy of the War of 1872, an or
ganizer of the Territorial Temperance
: Society, trustee of the first schoo
board on the West Side, supervisor o
the town of Minneapolis, promoter o
} the first ferry-boat line near ST
Anthony Falls, and of the first bridg
across the Mississippi While tn
town of ST. Anthony on the Eas: sid
of the river and the town of Mime
apolis on the West side were havin
their little squabbles, despite Captain
, Murphy's efforts to bring about
union between them, he laid out hi
eighty acres as Murphy's Addition t
Minneapolis, dedicated a generou
square for public use as park, no.
i Riverside Park, and built fine res
e dence near by. After his death i
:, 1866 the homestead passed into tn
possession of the Sisters of Mere
e who converted the Murphy residenc
d into Mercy Hospital. In 1888 the Si
d ters of ST. Joseph took charge of til
Y institution the name of which wa
il changed to st. Mary's Hospital. Tw
II years later the cornerstone of ne
) brick structure was placed near tn
i. frame building, and the two serve
r for many years the needs of S
# NIaW's patients. The original fran
i building was capable of shelterin