Homer G. Phillips Hospital, The Ville

The Ville, North St. Louis and Elsewhere 026

Located in the heart of the Ville, where the African-American middle class thrived for decades before the end of segregation, the Homer G. Phillips Hospital represented the crowning achievement of numerous leaders to open a state of the art facility for the African-American population of St. Louis. Opened in stages in the 1930’s, the building is an interesting mix of architectural styles. The Brutalist front pavilion was probably retained in the redevelopment to provide more space on the interior.

The Ville, North St. Louis and Elsewhere 027

On one hand, the overall feel of the building is Art-Deco, but it is not so simple.

The Ville, North St. Louis and Elsewhere 031

On top of the building, Renaissance and Moorish Revival stylistic influences reveal themselves; the Renaissance and its Brunelleschi conceived roundels between the arches, while the arches themselves seem more Moorish than Western in style. It is truly a wonderful building, and it now functioning as senior housing.

The Ville, North St. Louis and Elsewhere 033

See Homer G. Phillips’s grave in St. Peter’s Cemetery here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.