Reviewed by: Mary Helene Hall
New $750K grant helps Montgomery restore historic St. Jude Hospital
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St. Jude Hospital, a monumental civil rights landmark in Montgomery, is set for vital preservation thanks to a $750,000 federal grant awarded to the city.
The funding, provided through the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund’s African American Civil Rights program, will support the full rehabilitation of the historic site located along Fairview Avenue in west Montgomery.
The former hospital building was previously converted into apartments, but deteriorating conditions forced residents to vacate a few years ago. City leaders are now making a renewed push to rehabilitate the space for affordable housing, addressing critical community needs while honoring the building’s character.
Honoring the legacy of Montgomery’s St. Jude Hospital
The funding will help safeguard the legacy of a site deeply rooted in the capital city’s history. The City of St. Jude was founded in the mid-1930s by Catholic priest Father Harold Purcell when segregation was the norm across the Southeast.
Opening its doors in 1951 as the first integrated hospital in the region, St. Jude Hospital pioneered nondiscriminatory health, education and social services before eventually closing in 1985, according to the National Park Service.
In 1965, the campus notably served as a sanctuary for 2,000 participants of the Selma-to-Montgomery march, offering its athletic field for the historic “Stars for Freedom Rally” and providing vital medical care to marchers.
Preserving historic landmarks in Montgomery
This new National Park Service grant is part of a larger wave of investment in Montgomery’s storied past. The $750,000 allocation is one of three recent awards to the city, with the other two totaling $800,000 to support preservation efforts at the former Ben Moore Hotel in downtown Montgomery.
Together, these federal investments ensure that critical landmarks like the former St. Jude Hospital continue to tell the powerful stories of Montgomery for generations to come.
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