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Charlotte Medicine

Medicine in Charlotte has come a long way from when St. Peter's Hospital, Charlotte's first, opened in 1876. At that time, an observer noted "The first few patients were brought in under resistance so fierce that one of the two or three policemen which the town boasted had always to walk beside the patient, and at times hang around the premises, to intimidate the rioters who threatened to shoot into the building." These photos are of medical facilities in 1940. In 1940, Charlotte boasted $3,250,000 of medical facilities with 900 beds. There were 162 physicians in Charlotte and 625 nurses.

Memorial Hospital opened on October 8, 1940. The patients in St. Peter's Hospital were transferred to the new facility, thereby bringing the history of St. Peter's Hospital to an end. Memorial Hospital has grown and is now known as Carolinas Medical Center.

It is believed to be the first private, independent hospital in North Carolina to have been built exclusively for the treatment of blacks. Finshed in 1891, a 1929 survey by the American Medical Association indicates that Good Samaritan was not only a landmark in North Carolina, but one of the oldest black hospitals then in operation in the entire United States. The building was demolished to make room for Ericsson Stadium.

The stately Gothic brick building continues to serve the community. Its name comes from the Sisters of Mercy, an Order that provided substantial support for the hospital's operation.

This imposing structure remains as a centerpiece of the Presbyterian Hospital downtown complex. Facing Hawthorne Lane and the end of Elizabeth Avenue, the building occupies the site of the short-lived Elizabeth College.