Pensacola Hospital

The Pensacola Hospital (also known as the Old Sacred Heart Hospital) is a historic hospital in Pensacola, Florida, United States. It is located at 1010 North 12th Avenue. On February 16, 1982, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Aaron Ritz, a son of one of the owners, gave permission to use his words to further describe the building:

Pensacola Hospital, now known as the historic Sacred Heart Hospital, opened in September of 1915 as the first Catholic hospital in Florida. The Daughters of Charity, a religious order dating back to 1633, invested over $400,000.00 into building and opening this facility. Evans Brothers Construction, of Birmingham, Alabama, took one year to build this late Gothic Revival building for the Daughters to provide the residents of Pensacola with better health care.

This structure is both a medical and architectural landmark. Before this hospital, Pensacola had only a scattering of local clinics in converted houses. Doctors would send patients with serious cases as far away as New Orleans for complicated procedures not available in Pensacola. With this facility, Pensacola had the first surgical,radiological, bacterial, and therapeutical facilities in Florida. Following the Daughters of Charity motto of "service to all", the third level of the east wing was dedicated entirely to the Creole and Colored population so that they could also receive hospital care. A.O. Von Herbulis, a native of Austria who immigrated to the United States, designed the hospital. Using the vocabulary of English Gothic architecture, with elements such as the Tudor arches on the ends, the stone work around the front entrance, and the embattlement at the parapet, Von Herbulis created a lasting monument to health care.

In 1948, following the original desire of Mother Margaret O'Keefe, Pensacola Hospital's name changed to Sacred Heart Hospital of Pensacola. In 1965, the hospital moved its operations to north Ninth Avenue. After the hospital left, a private school for Liberal Arts used the building from 1969 through 1978, but lack of maintenance forced the school to abandon the building. In 1980, Tower East Group, Inc., purchased the property to preserve the historic hospital for the future.

The public areas are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, for touring. The building has several restaurants and a local theater company, as well as many private offices.

Tower East Group, Inc., a private enterprise owned by partners B. Neal Armstrong and Stephen F. Ritz, has been restoring and renovating this Late Gothic Revival landmark since March of 1980. National Park Guidelines for historic preservation are followed voluntarily;however, no Federal or State funding has ever been received. Structurally, the building has received very few alterations in its history. The exterior stonework retains its Gothic appearance to this day and other original architectural details, such as the elaborate oak entrance doors, remain.