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Lutheran minister and social activist Rev. William Alfred Passavant arrived in Chicago in the summer of 1865 to establish a hospital for "the suffering and the sick...without distinction of creed, country, or color." With only $20 in donations and the assistance of two deaconesses, Rev. Passavant opened a 15-bed hospital at the northeast corner of Dearborn and Ontario streets. The fledgling Deaconess Hospital secured a state charter in 1867 and enlisted prominent civic leaders to serve on its board, including Chicago's first mayor, William Ogden, Lt. Governor William Bross and lawyer Ezra McCagg. The Deaconess Hospital served Chicago's immigrant community for six years until it was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire on October 9, 1871.
While Reverend Passavant planned to reopen the hospital on donated land near Graceland Cemetery, in 1885 he established a hospital for downtown accident cases at 149 West Superior St. Plans were eventually abandoned for the Lakeview hospital site, and the Emergency Hospital was renamed Passavant Memorial Hospital in 1895 in memory of its founder. Distinguished physicians Christian Fenger, M.D. and Ralph N. Isham, M.D. reorganized the medical staff in the 1890s and the Woman's Aid Society, established in 1897, successfully raised funds for facility improvements and patient care. During the next 25 years, the hospital opened a nursing school and purchased adjoining property for a hospital annex, but continually faced overcrowding and limited finances.
1925 marked a watershed year for Passavant Memorial Hospital when its board of directors signed an affiliation agreement with Northwestern University. The old 65-bed hospital at Superior and LaSalle streets was closed and a four-year fundraising campaign for a new 325-bed facility on the medical school's new downtown campus was launched. The new Passavant Memorial Hospital, designed by the noted architectural firm Holabird & Root, opened in June 1929 at 303 East Superior St. The furnishings and interior design exemplified a pioneering concept in the relationship between hospital decor and patient morale. With its elegant public spaces, personalized care and active support organizations, Passavant established a presence as one of the city's finest medical institutions.
Though 40 percent of Passavant's medical staff served in the armed forces in World War II, the hospital cared for a record number of patients. During the post-war era, several additions to the original structure helped meet a growing demand for patient services. Passavant's affiliation with Northwestern University Medical School led to important advances in patient care and research, particularly in the areas of neurology; inhalation therapy; burn and tendon surgery; hypertension studies; diabetes and renal disease; kidney dialysis; ophthalmic surgery; and cancer of the placenta. A clinical research center established in 1962 with the support of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) added to Passavant's reputation.
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