Go West – SUI Hospital – Go West!

Today, the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics has three major campuses: the University campus, the Downtown Iowa City campus (formerly Mercy Hospital), and the North Liberty campus. With 20,000 staff members, including more than 1,200 staff physicians and dentists, 800 resident and fellow physicians, and over 5,300 nursing staff members, UIHC provides adult and pediatric primary and specialty care to patients and families from across Iowa, throughout the nation, and around the world. Pretty impressive, huh? Especially when you think back to the earliest days of UIHC…

The **State University of Iowa (SUI) College of Medicine** opened its doors for the first class on **Sept. 20, 1870**, meeting in **South Hall** (above top left), for which an appropriation of $3,000 was made in the summer of 1869 for alterations to meet the needs of the new department. This building, located directly south of Old Capitol, was constructed in 1861 as the first campus building designed specifically for University use. The remodeled building included an amphitheater seating over 100 and a basement dissecting room, as well as cabinets and storage facilities for medical supplies and equipment, but it did not provide any hospital beds. In 1873, four Sisters of Mercy, responding to an invitation by Dr. Washington F. Peck, traveled from Davenport by train, carrying as many furnishings and medical supplies as they could manage. They set up shop in **Mechanics Academy** (above middle left) – built in 1842, and within three weeks, on **September 27, 1873**, the new Mercy Hospital of Iowa City admitted its first patient—a gentleman with tuberculosis. Now, with a functioning hospital with beds for 20 patients, the SUI College of Medicine, in **1882**, moved next door from their original home in South Hall into the new **Medical Building** (above top right) – a state-of-the-art instructional building designed exclusively for medical training purposes. By the late 1890’s, the College of Medicine – serving patients out of the long-outdated Mechanics Academy – had grown to such a degree, SUI decided to step away from its agreement with the Sisters of Mercy, expanding into their own state-sponsored 65-bed hospital, which opened as the **SUI University Hospital** (above bottom left) on **January 11, 1898**. Built at 328 Iowa Avenue, the hospital featured a 200-seat amphitheater for clinical instruction, making SUI the first university-based teaching hospital west of the Mississippi River. Additions to the building came in several installments; the southeast wing being completed in **1906**, the northwest wing in **1912**, and the northeast wing and an addition to the central portion being built in **1914**. Despite, the expansion, **SUI Hospital on Iowa Avenue** (above bottom right) was still very limited – with only 125 beds, and only 25 of those were for use in the School of Medicine. *Read more about the history of the SUI School of Medicine here.*

SUI University Hospital on Iowa Avenue in downtown Iowa City – circa 1925.

When a 1919 state law required SUI Hospital to accept patients statewide, the die was cast and the Board of Regents began looking seriously at expanding to the west side of the Iowa River – where there was plenty of vacant land.

At the time, there were only two SUI buildings on the west side: the Quadrangle Dormitory (1920) and the SUI Armory (1921). Below is a rare aerial photograph, taken in 1921 by SUI’s staff photographer, Fred W. Kent…

The hospital’s transition to the west began with a new 150-bed Children’s Hospital – which opened in 1919, and the nearby Psychopathic Hospital for those with mental illness – opening in 1921.

By the mid-1920’s, the SUI School of Medicine & Hospitals had the beginnings of two medical campuses: On the east side of the Iowa River: The SUI Hospital on Iowa Avenue and the Hall of Anatomy & Medical Laboratories Building, (opening on nearby Jefferson Street in 1904), and on the west side: the SUI Children’s Hospital and the Psychopathic Hospital – with bus service (see above right) running between the east and west side locations. Read more here…

Knowing the general hospital on Iowa Avenue had expanded to its limits, a plan to build a much larger facility on the west side of the river began taking shape in 1924. A well-known architectural firm in Des Moines was chosen for the project – Proudfoot, Rawson and Souers, creators of major landmarks like the Hotel Fort Des Moines, the Des Moines Building, and the US Bank (Iowa-Des Moines National Bank) building. One of the firm’s younger architects – Amos B. Emery, who had recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (1922), was chosen to head up the project, and by 1926, ground was broken and a cornerstone laid on “20 acres (of land located) on the south side of Highway 32” (see Irving Weber‘s explanation below) – all within walking distance to both the Children’s Hospital and the Psychopathic Hospital.

With an architectural plan for the new SUI hospital in place, fund-raising now became the focus. A $2,250,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation and the General Education Board was matched by the State of Iowa, so by 1927, as two other SUI buildings were opening on the west side of the Iowa River: the SUI Athletic Department’s Field House (below top right), and the SUI School of Medicine’s Medical Laboratories (below bottom right), construction on the new hospital was moving along at a rapid pace. See below left: article from the March 10, 1927 edition of the Iowa City Press-Citizen…

Note: The three-story Medical Laboratories Building, which opened in 1927, is located 100 feet to the east of the new SUI Hospital Building.

Interestingly, the cornerstones of both SUI’s Mechanics Academy (1842) and Medical Building (1882) are cemented into the entryway of this building.

As you read in the March 10, 1927 article above, one of the earlier plans for the new SUI general hospital called for a 900-bed facility, but as the project developed, it appears that the young architect from Des Moines, Amos B. Emery (pictured above), scaled the size down to a 750-bed design, yet still, at the time, second in size only to the hospital at the University of Michigan! As you can see from the picture postcard above, the hospital would be divided Into three sections, the east and west wings each having four floors, and the central tower wing having seven floors with a Gothic crown topping it off.

Without a doubt, the most unusual aspect of Emery’s architectural design was his 210-foot-high Gothic Tower (nearly 65 meters high) that would welcome visitors into the hospital. Over the years, there has been a lot of conversation about how this beautiful 12-story Gothic-inspired, crowned-spire with its pointed arches, rib vaults, and flying buttresses came to be included in this otherwise plain-Jane, institutional red-brick-building design. Fortunately, the Iowa City historian – Irving Weber – captured the answer to this burning question back in 1982, when he interviewed Mrs. Emery in Des Moines. Here’s the full story…

Pictured below is the beautiful entryway that Amos B. Emery designed for his beloved Gothic Tower in Iowa City. In the truest tradition of Gothic architecture, a magnificent dragon is placed high over the doorway, symbolizing a protective guardian that would scare away any evil spirits or bad luck!

Another intriguing aspect to the design of the hospital’s Gothic Tower is its unique placement. As we mentioned earlier, in 1919, the University of Iowa Board of Regents decided that the long-term future of any SUI expansion would be to the west – on the opposite side of the Iowa River from Old Capitol and the Pentacrest.

With that decision, beginning in 1919 and going forward, any new large facility built for University purposes would be constructed on the west side of the river. Thus, by 1921, we have the opening of SUI’s Children’s Hospital, the Psychopathic Hospital, the Quadrangle Dormitory, and the SUI Armory. In 1927, the Medical Laboratories Building and SUI Athletic Field House followed. In 1929, the new, 40,000 seat Iowa Stadium (today’s Kinnick Stdium) would replace Iowa Field, and knowing how important the 750-bed hospital was to the University’s future, it was important to mark this spot as the center of all west campus expansion.

So, just as Old Capitol has stood as the centerpiece of Iowa City since 1841, it was vitally important that this new SUI Hospital Tower stand as the centerpiece of Iowa City’s west side expansion.

This view, taken from the top of the Hospital’s 145-foot-high Gothic Tower, shows how Amos B. Emery designed his Gothic structure to sit on the same straight-line axis as Old Capitol, located exactly ½ mile west of our city’s most iconic structure.

As the Hospital’s Gothic Tower took shape, people across the city began preparing for its grand dedication. In the July 19, 1928 edition of the Press-Citizen, sports fans read about SUI’s top golfer – Robert C. Walton – who climbed to the top of the Tower with a golf club and ball, rifling a towering drive as he stood on a narrow ledge “some 200 feet in the air”.

With Homecoming at hand (Saturday, October 27, 1928), plans were made to light up both Old Capitol and the new Hospital Tower (see October 20 article above), and Henry Louis, the downtown druggist and Kodak dealer (above right – October 26 advertisement) was anxious to sell Kodak cameras to those who wanted to capture the moment on film.

Below: Throughout the month of October, the Press-Citizen kept the public informed about the transition from the old hospital and other medical services on the east side to the new facilities located on the west side…

On the national front, Iowa native **Herbert Hoover** is elected President of the United States, soundly defeating Al Smith in a landslide victory on **November 6, 1928** and reported in the next day’s *Daily Iowan*.

Back in Iowa City, plans are being made for a special week of dedication ceremonies – celebrating the opening of SUI’s General Hospital. While the “official” dedications will be held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, November 15, 16 & 17, the general public is invited to an Open House to be held on Tuesday, November 13 (see article below)

The **November 14, 1928** edition of *the Press-Citizen* (below left) and the **November 15, 1928** edition of *The Daily Iowan* (below right) feature stories that spell out the magnitude of the week-long celebration…

These articles state that Dr. Willlam J. Mayo of Rochester, Minnesota was the keynote speaker at a special banquet held on Wednesday evening, November 14, 1928, at the Iowa Memorial Union. It was there (see below) Dr. Mayo advocated year round instruction not only in medical schools but in high schools and college as well. “Why young people at the strongest time of their lives physically and mentally should have a vacation of three months when the world is on the twelve month working basis, I am unable to see.”

The front page of the **November 15, 1928** edition of *The Daily Iowan* (above) features the headline: **Medical Men Arrive For Ceremonies**, while the **November 16, 1928** edition (below) splashes the headline: **Doctors Arrive for Dedication**.

The main dedication ceremony is held on **Friday, November 16, 1928** at 2 pm in the large ballroom of the **Iowa Memorial Union**. Dr. Ray L. Wilbur, the President of Stanford University is scheduled to be the keynote speaker for the ceremony, but due to the illness of his wife, is unable to attend. Iowa Governor John Hammill is, of course, there, along with many other dignitaries, and accurately predicts that “the new medical plant, erected at a cost of $4,500,000” will become a “Great Center of Medicine.”

The **November 17, 1928** edition of *The Daily Iowan* (above) features the two major news stories in Iowa City: **Thousands Await Hour of Kickoff** as it’s Dads Day at Iowa Field and the Hawkeyes take on the Wisconsin Badgers in football; and **Leaders in Field of Medicine Dedicate Hospital**.

As the weekend ended, there were numerous “afterglow” reports that commemorated the week-long celebration in Iowa City. In the November 18, 1928 edition of The Daily Iowan (below), an overview of the week’s festivities is offered, with Dr. Campbell P. Howard, from McGill University, stating, “the new university hospital is the most modern and best equipped one of its kind in existence.”

One of the more memorable articles came in the November 15, 1928 edition of the Iowa City Press-Citizen (below) as a University student writes home to his mother, giving her (and us!) an excellent overview of his Tuesday, November 13 tour of the SUI General Hospital…

Dear Mother: At last I mastered my dread of hospitals long enough to visit the new University hospital, which was open to the public for the first time Tuesday afternoon. The building is one of the most beautiful structures I have ever seen. The massive tower, with its silver minarets softened by mists, gleams like a dream of the future, there on the hill above the river, and a tour of the interior is assuring that it is nothing less than a dream come true ... *We went out on the roof of the hospital and looked over the Quadrangle and the field house. The view was magnificent – so was the wind.*

As we mentioned earlier, Amos B. Emery was only in his early 30’s when he drew up the architectural plans for the new SUI General Hospital. Living in Des Moines, he became a highly-recognized architect with over 50 years of professional experience. Above: an article from the October 23, 1939 edition of the Iowa City Press-Citizen calls attention to Emery, and below: are three articles from the 1960’s that mention his continuing work with the University of Iowa…

Once again, we call upon the Iowa City historian – Irving Weber – to help us remember the life of Amos B. Emery, as written in Weber’s article: A strange, somehow appropriate death under Hospital Tower, which appeared in the Iowa City Press-Citizen on November 27, 1982…

As recalled by Mrs. Emery, Amos B. Emery never retired, and at the age of 78, in 1973, had accepted an assignment to come to Iowa City to supervise the construction of the new Iowa City Post Office and Federal Building. The Emery’s moved to Iowa City and lived in the University of Iowa married student housing. They had only been in Iowa City several months when (on February 2, 1973) Emery suffered a massive heart attack at his office and was rushed to University Hospital where he died. After the doctors broke the news to Mrs. Emery, she told them there was an official card in his billfold bequeathing his body to the College of Medicine for research purposes.

(Emery) designed the $14 million Des Moines Post Office (and) for many years he maintained an office in The Des Moines Register and Tribune Building. His association with “Ding Darling, Des Moines Register cartoonist and later wildlife conservationist, resulted in Emery doing some work in that field when Darling went to Washington D.C. He designed Darling’s wildlife refuge home on Sanibel Island in Florida (and) also designed all the shelter houses in the Iowa state parks, as part of his work with Darling. (Read more about Iowa’s Jay “Ding” Darling here)

(The SUI Gothic Tower) was Amos Emery’s pride and joy, and many think it to be his greatest achievement in a long, brilliant architectural career.

Amos B. Emery died on February 2, 1973, at age 78, while working on yet another project here in Iowa City. Below is one of several obituaries honoring Mr. Emery…

In the fall of 2028, University of Iowa Libraries will be overseeing a UIHC Gothic Tower Centennial Celebration, and in preparation for that special event, Our Iowa Heritage has put together this page and a corresponding picture page that honors this historic and iconic building here in Iowa City. More details coming as to what that celebration will look like! Bookmark this page to stay up to date for 2028!

*This art print by **P Buckley Moss** (2007*) *offers a beautiful view of the University Hospital Tower – a striking example of Gothic architecture, standing nearly 65 meters tall, on the west side of Iowa City.*

The University of Iowa Hospital Gothic Tower. When the move to the west side was finally completed in 1928, University Hospital with its beautiful Gothic Tower became the foundation of the modern University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics. Today, the gothic crown has been engulfed with the 1976 Boyd Tower addition and has been dwarfed by other larger medical buildings, but from the west steps of Old Capitol it can still be clearly viewed. The Tower remains a notable landmark and historic symbol of University of Iowa Health Care, often recognized for its unique, scholarly architecture amidst modern additions.