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Building History

This hospital replaced the tiny Southern Oregon Hospital located in a Queen Anne Style residence, the John Cox House. Doctors of the Southern Oregon Hospital appealed to Portland’s Roman Catholic Archbishop Alexander Christie (1848-1925) and the Sisters of Providence to assist financially in building a larger, more modern facility. The church responded by allocating $90,000 to the Medford project, while the City of Medford chipped in a building site and $10,000. According to the Medford Main Tribune: "In accordance with the request of the Sisters of Providence, who selected the site, the hospital committee of the Medford Commercial Club Saturday made the initial payment and purchased from J. E. Woodruff the south half of Nob Hill, consisting of about two and a half acres, as a site for the proposed $100,000 hospital." (See "Site Is Purchased for $100,000 Hospital," Medford Mail Tribune Weekly, 09/15/1910, p. 1, transcribed atAccessed 11/04/2014.) The Medford building committee selected German-born architect Robert F. Tegen (1879-1948) to design the hospital, working with the building contractor, Littleman and Company of Portland. Tegen also co-designed (with an architect named Vezina) the Sisters of Providence hospital in Vancouver, Saint Paul's. Work began in 1911 and continued into 1912; nurses and patients began the process of transferring to the new facility from Southern Oregon Hospital beginning on 01/02/1912, with a formal dedication celebrated on 02/18/1912. (See "75 Years of Caring Providence Hospital Medford, OR,"Accessed 11/04/2014.)

In 1955, the Sacred Heart Hospital was supervised under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland, and administered by the Sisters of Charity of Providence.

Building Notes

Sacred Heart Hospital had four stories, contained 75 patient rooms and was built of red brick. (By 1914, the official number of beds was 90. See The Catholic Church in the United States of America, Vol. II, [New York: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914], p. 104.) The architect concocted an unorthodox Y-shaped plan, a linear arrangement allowing for light and air in many rooms; the symmetrical front facade composed the open part of the Y. Sacred Heart had a cupola, belt courses, apparent dentils and windows topped by keystones, and other Georgian Revival Style features.

Alteration

A large addition in a divergent Tudor Style was appended to the the building.

Demolition

The Sacred Heart Hospital was torn down c, 1966. (See Kevin Keating, Medford, [Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2011]. p. 54.)

The Sacred Heart Hospital was known under this name for its entire existence at this site. In 1966, the hospital relocated to a new location at 1111 Crater lake Avenue in Medford, and became known as the "Providence Hospital" (1966-1992). It was dedicated on 03/19/1966. In succeeding years, this later hospital has been known also as the "Providence Hospital and Medical Center" (1992-1995), and the "Providence Medford Medical Center" (1995- ).

PCAD id: 8976