Property Record
550 N DEWEY ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Sacred Heart Hospital |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | Eau Claire Academy |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 41034 |
| Location (Address): | 550 N DEWEY ST |
|---|---|
| County: | Eau Claire |
| City: | Eau Claire |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1890 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | 1921 1924 1912 1926 1910 |
| Survey Date: | 19972016 |
| Historic Use: | hospital/medical clinic |
| Architectural Style: | Late Gothic Revival |
| Structural System: | Brick |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Foeller, Schoeber & Stephenson |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. The former Sacred Heart Hospital, located on the city's north side just below Dells Pond, is a large brick building, constructed in part from 1890 to 1926. The original structure, erected in the Georgian Revival manner, was 35 by 54 feet and contained seventeen rooms (A). The massive three story brick building retains, for the most part, a Georgian Revival feeling. Hipped roofs cap the various sections while a bracketed cornice marks the roofline. Stone lintels and sills are also featured. The Sisters of St. Francis, from Springfield, Illinois, erected the initial three-story portion of the hospital that contained 17 rooms and accomodations for 50 patients. The hospital eventually grew to house 158 beds. On the north side of the complex is a large addition built in 1926 with funds donated by Mary Dulaney, wife of a prominent Eau Claire lumberman, Daniel Dulaney. This section is more in the Gothic tradition. 2016- "The former Sacred Heart Hospital building is a three-story, collegiate gothic style brick structure originally constructed in 1890 with subsequent additions and remodels in 1906, 1910, 1912, 1921, 1924, 1926, 1930's and 1950's. Based on photographs provided by the Chippewa Valley Museum the original building , built in 1890, was side gabled and three stories high. The front facade consisted of two paired turreted entrances. Each entrance was pedimented, with the doors recessed with a transom above. Each turret had a peaked roof and a windowed dormer. A single row of double hung windows lines each floor and spans across the entire fa9ade. A single row of smaller windows runs along ground level which is assumed to be the basement. Three separate windowless dormers line the roof. Based on a description provided by a local newspaper at the time of construction the new building was "three stories high, solid brick, with stone trimmings. The roof is so constructed as to make a fourth story but it will only be used as a store room. There is a large basement under the entire building which will serve as a furnace room, laundry and kitchen. There is a large dining room on each floor. Bathrooms, gas, electric sewer and water connections have been made throughout. The halls are exceptionally wide, and run on each floor north and south, east and west. There are three large entrances, the main entrance being on N. Dewey Street. The addition in 1912, the West wing, was added on the west of the original 1890 structure. Based on architectural drawings and visits to the site, the west wing addition is of the same Collegiate Gothic style of the original structure. The addition is three stories high with a flat roof and a single chimney. The entablature that runs continuously along the roof line is made up of an elaborate cornice with dentils and simple frieze design. Similar to the original 1890 structure single, four paned windows run the length of each story along with a row running along the basement. The Sisters house or living quarters that were added is a simple brick building with single and double, double hung windows lining the two stories. The building has a flat roof line and no entablature along the roof line. The building is located to the east of the original structure and was connected to the main building with an addition in 1951. The chapel, built in 1921 , is simple brick V-shaped structure, with two stories and a hipped roof. There are a pair of double hung windows along both floors on the east side and windows lining the basement level. Large, multipaned windows are located on the east and north sides of the building. There appears to be some stained-glass design still intact. Some window panes have been enclosed. The heating plant does still appear to be extant, and is a simple building with a flat roof located to the east of the original building and has since been altered with additions. The largest addition to the hospital, the Mary E. Dulaney wing, is Collegiate Gothic in design and three stories high. It was added to the north side of the original1890 building, extending out past the original front facade toward N. Dewey Street. Based on historic photographs the north and south sides of the building were originally lined with rows of single, triple paned windows. The front of the building, facing N. Dewey Street to the east, features a projecting bay. Based on historical photographs the building originally had triple, multi paned windows. Observations in the field observed that the windows are no longer triple paned but double hung. Beneath each window is a carved design. Along the roof line on the east facade is a plaque commemorating the additions' construction in 1926. The addition mimics the original 1890 structures polychromatic design with red brick and limestone lintels under each window. This addition was overall complimentary in design to the original 1890 structure and style as evident in the included historical pictures. The remodel and additions, built in approximately in 1930, changed the entrance of the original, main building. Instead of two paired turreted entrances one main vestibule entrance was added. This entrance is what remains today. It consists of a central portico with a decorative pediment above the door. Double hung, multipaned windows flank either side. According to architectural plans designed in 1945, a connecting tunnel was constructed between the main hospital building and the convent and laundry facilities. However, later Sanborn maps indicate they were not constructed until the 1950's." -"Sacred Heart Hospital/Eau Claire Academy", WisDOT#7995-02-49, Prepared by Robert Newbery and Megan Beer-Pemberton, (2016). The Sacred Heart Hospital, founded in 1889 by the Sisters of St. Francis, now serves as the Eau Claire Academy, a child and adolescent treatment center. Overcrowding led to the dedication of a new hospital located on Clairemont Avenue, on December 6, 1964. (A,D,E) 1997 survey update: The Eau Claire Academy has occupied the building since 1967 and has made no major changes to the building. In 1991, the Academy added a gymnasium that connected the main building with an ancillary building in the rear. 2016- "Sisters of St. Francis, from Springfield Illinois, erected the initial three-story portion of Sacred Heart Hospital in 1890 that contained 17 rooms and accommodations for 50 patients. A number of expansions and changes occurred over the years as the hospital grew to accommodate 158 beds. However, the front facade appears today largely the way it did back in 1931 with the exception of some changes to the windows. Sacred Heart Hospital discontinued its operation at this site in 1964 and moved to a new and larger facility on Clairemont Avenue. Eau Claire Academy, a child and adolescent treatment center, has occupied the building since 1967. Initial construction and additions to the building were of Colonial Revival style. A later addition in 1926 to the north end of the hospital and east side of the chapel, called the Dulaney Memorial Annex, displays Neo-Gothic Revival style features." -"Eau Claire Landmarks: Designated Historic Properties in Eau Claire, Wisconsin", Eau Claire Landmarks Commission, P.O. Box 5148, 2016. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | (A) History of Eau Claire County, 1914, p. 308. (B) 1897 Sanborn-Perris Map. (C) Brochure from Sacred Heart Hospital Development Fund Campaign - available at Chippewa Valley Museum. (D) Newspaper article, no date, "History of Hospital Dates Back to 1889." (E) Barland, Lois. 1965. The Rivers Flow On, p. 265. (F) Master Builder, Dec. 1926, p. 24. (G) Another map code for this building is EC 4L/14 and its corresponding Survey map name is Plat Map #5. Eau Claire Landmarks booklet published by the Landmarks Commission in 2002. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |