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39-809: Built in 1931-33 for the Firmin Desloge Hospital , now St. Louis University Medical Center, the chapel serves as an ecumenical pastoral chapel for the hospital complex, and is formally designated the Chapel of Christ the Crucified King by the Roman Catholic church within the Archdiocese of St. Louis . Like the hospital it serves, the Desloge Chapel was underwritten by gifts from the family of Firmin V. Desloge , one of

78-453: A 150-bed hospital at 1526 Papin called St. Mary's Infirmary for the poor. In 1933 the infirmary was opened to African Americans with African American physicians and a mix of white and African American nurses. Physicians of St. Louis University Medical School served as consultant physicians. The Sisters of St. Mary had a nursing school for African American women at St. Mary's Infirmary. The cited author above, John C Crichton as erroneously ascribed

117-474: A chapel next to the hospital. The building was designed by Study, Farrar and Majors, with Arthur Widmer, in the Modern Gothic Revival style. Construction began in the fall of 1930, with an estimated cost of $ 1.25 million. Archbishop John Glennon formally laid the cornerstone of the hospital on June 22, 1931. The 250-foot structure rises ten stories above a high basement, and reflects

156-550: A charter was requested and granted to the Missouri Lead and Smelting Company on June 5, 1874. The corporate name was later changed to " The Desloge Lead Company " on February 21, 1876. Three shafts were sunk during 1876 and 1877 and a new mill was built. In 1886, a fire destroyed the concentrating mill plant and damaged the rest of surface plant of the Desloge Lead Company. Rather than rebuild, Desloge II sold

195-696: A new hospital was built and opened in 2020. In February 1930, Saint Louis University received a $ 1 million bequest ($ 18,239,044 today ) from the estate of Firmin Vincent Desloge, a member of the Desloge Family in America , who provided in his will, funds for a hospital to serve St. Louis University and to replace the old St. Mary's Hospital, both in St. Louis. Desloge's wife, Lydia Desloge (née Lydia Holden Davis), donated another $ 100,000 to build

234-467: Is Desloge. Firmin V. Desloge IV owned and was president of Smokey Oil Company. In 1922, Firmin Desloge II's grandson Louis Desloge (from Jules Desloge) founded Watlow to manufacture electric heating elements for the shoe industry. The name alludes to low- watt electric heaters that replace steam heat . In 2011, Watlow, still a Desloge family business, employed 2,000 employees in 13 factories in

273-628: Is a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri , opened in 1932 by the Jesuits of Saint Louis University and the Sisters of Saint Mary. Named for the benefactor, Firmin V. Desloge , it was established to serve the poor and others in need. Located on Grand Avenue between Vista Avenue and Rutger Avenue, Firmin Desloge Hospital was the main hospital building of the St. Louis University Medical Center until

312-627: Is crowned by a steeply pitched hipped roof of copper-covered lead, pierced with wall and roof dormers in a variety of configurations. The building was dedicated on November 3, 1933. At the ceremony, Desloge's son Firmin (III) noted that the roof was covered by lead, the source of the family's fortune, and said, "That’s a good cap on things". Its chapel, Desloge Chapel , was designed by the Gothic revivalist architect Ralph Adams Cram , appointed with stained glass by Emil Frei and sculpture by John Angel , and consecrated later that year. Operated under

351-425: Is “highly likely” that 15-story French Gothic Revival Desloge tower will be converted to office space". In November 2016, St. Louis University released to the St. Louis Planning Commission a $ 750 million redevelopment plan for 400 acres in midtown St. Louis, an area which encompasses Desloge Hospital Tower. Uses within the area include medical and educational uses including offices and training facilities for those in

390-585: The Firmin Desloge Hospital , today known as St. Louis University Hospital ; a separate bequest one year later from his wife, Lydia Desloge, built a Desloge Chapel at the hospital. Desloge II willed his original 47 acres of his hand-dug pits of the original lead mining operations and the deeply rutted wagon tracks on a property in Washington County. The family then donated this land for a park, today named Firmin Desloge Park, and dedicated it to

429-693: The Missouri River . The family hosted Russian ballerinas, Shakespearean actors, King Hussein of Jordan, and Anne Morrow Lindbergh . They sheltered the exiled Chancellor of Austria Kurt Schuschnigg , deposed by the Nazis in 1938, freed from encarceration in May 1945. In April 2024, the estate was sold to the Augustine Institute , a private Catholic graduate theology school, which announced plans to move there from Denver . Three members of

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468-676: The British-born sculptor, medallist, and lecturer. As of October 2015, SSM Health was planning to spend $ 500 million to rebuild and expand the hospital. Various media reported that the options under consideration include demolishing the Chapel and the 1933 hospital tower; SSM officials say they have not ruled that out. Desloge scion Christopher Desloge has launched an effort to preserve the chapel and hospital that his family helped build. The original architectural firm of Ralph Adams Cram (now Cram & Ferguson ) which designed Desloge Chapel in 1931 has, eighty-five years later in 2016, joined

507-875: The Desloge Railway, the Mississippi River and Bonne Terre Railway and then the Valley Railroad. Desloge II was also involved with the development of the Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad (aka the Iron Mountain Railroad ) from St. Louis, Missouri, to Texarkana, Arkansas. The St. Joseph Lead Company built a 13.5-mile narrow gauge railroad from the mines to a junction with the Iron Mountain Railroad at Summit in Washington County. St. Joe paid two-thirds of

546-593: The Desloge family have been "Queen of Love and Beauty" at the Veiled Prophet Ball , a debutante ball held in December in St. Louis: Anne Kennett Farrar Desloge (daughter of Joseph Desloge Sr.) in 1946, her cousin and goddaughter Diane Waring Desloge (daughter of William L. Desloge) in 1962, and Katherine Falk Desloge (daughter of Stephen F. Desloge) in 2013. Durie Malcolm, wife of Firmin V. Desloge IV,

585-535: The Foundation for Commercial Philanthropy, a not for profit organization of the Christopher Desloge family, proposed to lease several floors of the tower for purposes of a nonprofit incubation center, seek millions of dollars in historic tax credits, and launch a campaign to raise $ 15 million to $ 20 million. Desloge and Landmarks Association of St. Louis director Andrew Weil say this would eliminate

624-737: The Missouri Lead Mining and Smelting Company in 1874 and the Desloge Lead Company in 1876, inclusively one of the largest and oldest lead mining companies in America. The family moved to St. Louis in 1861, at the outset of the American Civil War, after various attacks at Potosi, Bonne Terre and upon the family lead mining works by both Federal and Confederate armies who sought lead for weapons. Firmin Rene Desloge's son, Firmin V. Desloge II , expanded mining operations and expanded management to Bonne Terre, Missouri ;

663-478: The Modern Gothic Revival style. The basement and first two stories are covered with ashlar limestone, projecting out from the building at the center and end blocks. These projections display Gothic pointed-arched openings and flat, slender pilasters; the central projection has a monumental porch with compound arches. Above this three-story base, the building steps back, its five divisions composed of narrow piers with double hung windows and brick spandrels. The building

702-531: The United States, Mexico, Europe, and Asia; had sales offices in 16 countries; and distributed globally. In 2021, the family sold a majority stake in Watlow to Tinicum LP, a private-equity firm. Firmin Desloge II's son, Joseph Desloge, designed an industry-specialty electric fuse that would "kill the arc" and founded Killark Electric in 1913. Joseph Desloge also owned Minerva Oil (a confusing misnomer as it

741-432: The auspices of the Sisters of St. Mary, the new hospital had 206 beds: two-thirds were double-occupancy rooms and the rest private rooms — a departure from the open wards of the day. In keeping with the Desloge family dedication to service and advancement, Firmin Desloge Hospital was also specifically for African Americans, and served as a nursing school for African American women. In 1877 the Sisters of St. Mary established

780-586: The chapel, along with the hospital, to Tenet Healthcare Corp., a for-profit chain based in Dallas. In 2015, the university bought back the hospital, then gave it to SSM Health, "the Creve Coeur -based health care system sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, formerly Sisters of Saint Mary. The facility will become SSM St. Louis University Hospital. The hospital tower continues to serve

819-757: The construction costs; the Desloge Company the rest. Around 1916, the Desloge Consolidated Lead Company moved its corporate offices from Desloge, Missouri, to the Rialto Building in downtown St. Louis. While "St. Louis, with its French ancestry, has been noted as a fur capital, more money passed through St. Louis as a result of the lead business in Missouri than did because of the fur business", wrote Doe Run Company CEO Jeffry Zelm. The oldest St. Louis-based lead family

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858-559: The financial burden on SSM. In May 2016, the Landmarks Association called Firmin Desloge Hospital and Chapel the city's most endangered historical buildings. In September 2016, the St. Louis City Planning & Urban Design Agency’s Planning Commission convened to evaluate SSM's presented plans to save Desloge Tower in which the owners proposed to be rehabbed to accommodate medical offices. "A representative of SSM Health stated that while no decision has been finalized, it

897-518: The firm to the St. Joseph Lead Company. In 1887, the land was cleared and company houses for his staff were constructed at the location which became known as Deslogetown: present-day Desloge, Missouri . Desloge II then founded a new company, the Desloge Consolidated Lead Company . To serve his mines, Desloge II also built the first railroads to penetrate the disseminated lead field of St. Francois County, Missouri :

936-1205: The health care and life sciences; classrooms and related instructional, laboratory, research, hospice, nursery and day care spaces; and pharmacy facilities. Office facilities for private, public and non-profit institutions, businesses and agencies; research facilities. The planning commission unanimously approved the plan. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the iconic Firmin Desloge tower along Grand Boulevard appears safe for now. The plan doesn't call for tearing it down. 38°37′22″N 90°14′18″W  /  38.62290°N 90.23834°W  / 38.62290; -90.23834 Desloge Family in America The Desloge family, ( / d ə ˈ l oʊ ʒ / ) centered mostly in Missouri and especially at St. Louis , rose to wealth through international commerce , sugar refining , oil drilling , fur trading , mineral mining , saw milling , manufacturing , railroads , real estate , and riverboats . The family has funded hospitals and donated large tracts of land for public parks and conservation. The family's progenitor

975-552: The history of St Mary's Infirmary to Firmin Desloge Hospital. In 1959, administration of Firmin Desloge Hospital shifted completely to Saint Louis University. At this time, Firmin Desloge Hospital, the Bordley Memorial Pavilion and the David P. Wohl Sr. Memorial Institute were collectively renamed Saint Louis University Hospitals . In 1983, the Desloge family gave money to illuminate the peaked copper roof to mark

1014-578: The hospital as physician offices and administrative space. The original copper-covered roof remains a St. Louis landmark and is a distinctive part of the City of St. Louis 's skyline. As of October 2015, SSM Health planned to spend $ 500 million to rebuild and expand the hospital. Various media reported that the options under consideration include demolishing the 1933 hospital tower; SSM officials said at that time that they have not ruled that out. Desloge scion Christopher Desloge has launched an effort to preserve

1053-621: The hospital building and chapel that his family helped build, perhaps by adaptive uses including, for example, a museum to the African American experience in healthcare and nursing in St. Louis. The preservation of the hospital is supported by the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects , the Les Amis historical organization, and the Landmarks Association of St. Louis, whose executive director said, "In

1092-415: The hospital's fiftieth anniversary. Continuous growth and the need for modern facilities and equipment resulted in the construction of a new hospital facility as an addition to the original structure. This new part of the hospital was built directly behind the old Firmin Desloge Hospital at a cost of $ 39.1 million. The first patients moved in on January 30, 1988. In 1998, Saint Louis University sold

1131-640: The list of Stakeholders signing a letter to the owner SSM appealing for preservation. In November 2016, St. Louis University released its redevelopment plans for the area. The plan does not call for demolishing Desloge Chapel, leading the St. Louis Post Dispatch to report that "the iconic Firmin Desloge tower along Grand Boulevard appears safe for now." 38°37′22″N 90°14′19″W  /  38.622758°N 90.238502°W  / 38.622758; -90.238502 Firmin Desloge Hospital Firmin Desloge Hospital

1170-496: The mining families in the area. In 1955, Joseph Desloge donated to the state of Missouri some 2,400 acres of land acquired over 17 years in Reynolds County . The land, which included a shut-in region and more than two miles of river frontage, today composes the bulk of Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park . He continued donating money to improve the park. Desloge also donated land for Sunset Park in north St. Louis County on

1209-411: The oldest French families in the United States and wealthy through lead mining and other endeavors. Firmin's wife Lydia Holden Davis Desloge gave $ 100,000 ($ 1,823,904 today) to build the chapel. Roman Catholic Archbishop John J. Glennon laid the cornerstone of the hospital on June 22, 1931, and consecrated the chapel on November 9, 1933. In 1952, the funeral of the founder's son, Firmin V. Desloge II,

Desloge Chapel - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-472: The pantheon of St. Louis architecture and signature buildings, these are really way up there." The executive director also asserted that the building would be "considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and classified as "High Merit" under the terms of the St. Louis City Preservation Ordinance (64689)". In February 2016, a letter urging the hospital's preservation

1287-547: The stained glass windows for St. Louis University 's St. Francis Xavier (College) Church. Frei's son, Emil Frei III , became an American physician and oncologist at Firmin Desloge Hospital . An earlier plan, with windows depicting Jesuit missions in North America , was created by the firm of Reynolds, Francis & Rohnstock of Boston . At the altar is a major sculptural group of the Crucifixion by John Angel ,

1326-514: Was Firmin René Desloge , a descendant of French nobility who emigrated to Missouri in 1823 to join his uncle Jean Ferdinand Rozier who had arrived in Missouri in 1810 with Rozier's business partner John James Audubon . The family's businesses in lead and mercantile in Missouri date from around 1824, when Firmin Rene Desloge built his own smelting furnace as an extension of his Potosi, Missouri , mercantile business. They grew to include

1365-688: Was held at the chapel. In 1998, Saint Louis University sold the Chapel, along with the Hospital, to Tenet Healthcare , a for-profit chain based in Dallas. In 2015, the university bought back the hospital, then sold it to SSM Health , the Creve Coeur -based health care system sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary , formerly Sisters of Saint Mary. The stained glass windows were planned by Father Maurice B.McNamee, designed by Rodney Winfield , and fabricated by Emil Frei Associates in 1983. An artisan since 1898, Emil Frei also designed

1404-466: Was long rumored to have been briefly married to John F. Kennedy in 1947 in Palm Beach, Florida. FBI reports accessed through FOI requests appear to substantiate the rumors. In 1998, Malcolm's sister-in-law, Mrs. William L. Desloge, endorsed the story in a personal interview: "Of course it's true, we were all there at the parties in Palm Beach with them." The 1932 bequest of Desloge II funded

1443-503: Was primarily mining zinc and fluorspar ); founded Louisiana Manufacturing Company and Atlas Manufacturing Company; and pursued fluorspar mining in southeastern Illinois. Joseph Desloge's son Joseph Jr. owned uranium mines near Moab, Utah , which he and his partner sold to General Electric; he also made money in natural gas exploration in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania . Firmin Desloge II's new company operated until 1929, when it

1482-625: Was sent to SSM from 31 groups, including the Landmarks Association, the National Trust for Historic Preservation , Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Preservation Research Office, American Institute of Architects , Foundation for Commercial Philanthropy, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis , US Representative Russ Carnahan , the Society of Architectural Historians , and numerous neighborhood associations and alderpersons. Separately,

1521-573: Was sold to the St. Joseph Lead Company for $ 18 million (about $ 319,400,000 today ). The sale lifted the family's wealth past $ 52 million. Desloge II died that same year as one of the wealthiest men in the world, alongside William Vanderbilt ($ 52 million) and Andrew Mellon ($ 50 million), and about half as wealthy as the Astors ($ 100 million). In 1926, the family built a 15,000-square foot French-style mansion on an estate of thousands of acres in present-day Florissant, Missouri , north of St. Louis on

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