Celebrating progress for children; planning for the future
In the years following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Chicago was a booming metropolis and one of the fastest growing cities in the world.
As America's railroad hub and “hog butcher to the world,” Chicago was the link between the vast, fertile lands of the west and the populated cities of the east. Although the city prospered and grew, the prognosis for children born in the city in those days was grim. A child had only a 50 percent chance of surviving to the age of 5, and those who survived were likely to be exposed to a host of diseases.
In 1882, a young widow who had tragically lost her young son to a deadly disease took bold steps to transform the future of children's health in Chicago. Renovating a modest home at the corner of Belden and Halsted streets for $13,000, Julia Foster Porter established Chicago's first – and still its only – hospital dedicated exclusively to caring for children. From these modest roots, with the support of many community partners, Julia's cottage would eventually become Children's Memorial Hospital.
About a decade later, when demand for its services called for a larger and more modern facility, the hospital moved to a triangle of land in an undeveloped area of Lincoln Park , which would remain the hospital's home for the next century. While its original buildings have since been replaced with larger and more modern structures, the average age of the buildings on the hospital's campus is now about 45 years.
Do you have a personal memory or reflection about your experience with Children's Memorial?
Tell us your story
More than 125 years later, Children's Memorial has embarked on a bold initiative. Plans are underway to build a new state-of-the-art facility that will once again serve as an agent of change, shaping the future pediatric health care in Chicago and beyond.
“We have never strayed from Julia Porter's vision,” says Patrick M. Magoon, president and chief executive officer of Children's Memorial Hospital. “We are still committed to providing all children with the best possible care. Our new facility will enable us to provide excellent, compassionate care in the optimal healing environment.”