Omaha Emergency Hospital
The Omaha Emergency Hospital was located at 912 Douglas Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Originally used as a brothel, there was a great deal of debate about whether the building was an appropriate donation to the city when Anna Wilson, a notorious madam, willed it to the city upon her death.[1]
| Omaha Emergency Hospital | |
|---|---|
| Geography | |
| Location | Omaha, Nebraska, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°15′33″N 95°55′39″W |
| Services | |
| Beds | 46 |
| History | |
| Opened | late 1890s |
| Links | |
| Lists | Hospitals in Nebraska |
History
Originally planned to be opened in 1889,[2] the hospital was not opened until the late 1890s. Located in the city's original Sporting District, it was a three-story building with double-bay windows on the first and second floors, the house was equipped with 46 beds. The hospital was used exclusively for contagious diseases, and included a venereal clinic.
Anna Wilson, Omaha's most notorious and very rich madam, willed the building to the city upon her death. The mansion had been built as a brothel, and city officials and the public openly argued whether it was appropriate for the city to accept it as a gift. The city left much of the original ornamentation, minus the exterior stone porch columns, which were originally carved as nude women to advertise services inside the building.[3] Racy artwork remained in the facility's bathrooms until the building was razed in the 1940s.[4]
Students from the Creighton University School of Medicine were encouraged to intern at the hospital for many years.[5]
References
- Federal Writers Project. (1939) Nebraska. Nebraska State Historical Society. p 233.
- (1891) The Medical Counselor. Medical Counselor Publishing Company. p 239.
- Federal Writers Project. (1939) p 233.
- Palmer, J. (2006) "Omaha's Hidden History," Omaha World-Herald. 9/3/06. Retrieved 7/18/07.
- (1937) The Creighton University: Its story. Archived 2007-05-10 at the Wayback Machine Creighton University. Retrieved 4/5/08.