Mother Concordia Hall was built in 1929 on the grounds of St. Mary's Hospital in Richmond Heights to house a unit of the then newly formed St. Louis University School of Nursing. According to St. Louis University's website, the building also served as a residence hall for nurses until the early 1960's. It also served as office space for the hospital as well as living quarters for some of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary. A wood fence appeared around the building several weeks ago with signage indicating impending demolition.
The L shaped building constructed only six years after the original hospital formed the east end of a formal architectural composition in which wings of the hospital reached out toward Clayton Road. An early addition to the original building, partially visible in this photo from SLU's website, formed the west compliment to Mother Concordia Hall. This formal composition has been compromised over the years by a series of additions to the front of the original building and surrounding the west wing.
The original St. Mary's Hospital building constructed in 1923. This early photo is from Missouri's Contribution to Architecture published in 1928, one year prior to construction of Mother Concordia Hall, by the St. Louis Architectural Club.
This aerial photo shows the relation of Mother Concordia Hall (just northwest of the large parking garage) to the rest of the hospital. One of the pyramid shaped roofs of the original hospital building is still visible behind a layer of building additions facing Clayton Road. A comment on Urban St. Louis speculates that the building is being demolished to make way for a future addition to the hospital, but that construction of the new structure may be delayed due to the economy. The hospital is undergoing other renovations currently including conversion of all of the double rooms to single occupancy.
Windows have been removed from a sun porch like room fronting Clayton Road.
The St. Mary's hospital website is advertising a reunion and mass to be held on April 10th in commemoration of the building. Demolition will likely commence shortly thereafter.
The octagonal tower features the crest of the School of Nursing crafted in colored brick.
I suspect that the double-hight space at the top of the north wing contained a chapel.
The building has somewhat unusual steel sash windows that hinge at the center and fold to the center when opened.
In a related story, the St. Louis Business Journal reported last fall that the Franciscan Sisters of St. Mary will be vacating its St. Mary of Angels Convent south of the hospital (photo above from the St. Louis Business Journal). Starting in May, the sisters will begin transitioning to a retirement community in Bridgeton. the story indicates that the transition will be a long process occurring as space in the Bridgeton facility becomes available. There is no indication yet as to what will become if the historic convent building that dates from 1929. The Franciscan Sisters are talking with "an number of different people" including St. Mary's Hospital about possible uses for the building and its nine acres of grounds.
An aerial view of the St. Mary of Angels Convent complex south of the hospital
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