Over the years, the increasing population and health care needs of Alexandria led the Infirmary to relocate to larger, better-equipped facilities.
1873 – 1874
Southwest corner of Duke and Fairfax
1874 – 1880
King Street, west of Fayette Street, northwest corner
1880 – 1884
1100 block of Duke Street
What was likely the Infirmary’s first surgery took place at this location on Christmas afternoon in 1882. Dr. George Klipstein recalled performing an emergency operation that day. Klipstein and two assisting physicians amputated a portion of an African American man’s lower leg because his foot had been crushed in a railroad accident.
1884 – 1917
500 block of Wolfe Street
The Orphans Asylum & Widows Home on the 500 block of Wolfe Street (south side of Wolfe between Pitt and Saint Asaph Streets) was converted to a 36-bed healthcare facility. The buildings were connected, and architect Glenn Brown designed interiors for hospital functions. Brown’s father practiced medicine in Alexandria. While at this location the Infirmary opened a dispensary and initiated out-patient care in 1900, established a nursing school in 1894, and changed its name to Alexandria Hospital in 1902.
1917
700 block of Duke Street
Alexandria Hospital’s first purpose-built facility opened in September 1917. By 1913, the hospital on Wolfe Street was out-of-date and over capacity, which reportedly motivated the medical staff to present plans for a new facility to the Board of Lady Managers. Fundraising for a new hospital soon began.
In May 1914, the Alexandria Timesappealed to the community to “join in the movement to raise $50,000.00 for a new and properly equipped hospital.” In June 1915, the Washington Post reported, “A committee of public-spirited citizens several months ago started a campaign to raise a fund of $50,000 . . ..” Community support led to the purchase of the square bounded by Alfred, Columbus, Pendleton, and Wythe streets for the new facility, but it was sold when Edward Daingerfield donated land on the 700 block of Duke Street. This generous gift allowed the Managers and Trustees to sell the purchased property, as well as their Wolfe Street property, and use the proceeds for the new hospital.
The Colored Citizens Association provided $500 for the African American women’s and men’s wards. Dr. Albert Johnson (1866-1949) was chairman of this organization,which assembled donations from numerous churches, fraternal organizations, and individuals in support of the wards. Dr. Johnson was the first African American physician to practice in Alexandria -- opening a private practice in his home at 814 Duke Street in 1894. Segregation prevented him from seeing patients at Alexandria Hospital.
Architect Waddy B. Wood designed the hospital. It would grow to be a 200-bed modern facility that provided opportunities for female and African American health-care professionals. The hospital opened a west wing addition in July 1935. Occupancy of the newly built north wing began at the end of 1943. That year was also when the hospital first granted courtesy privileges to African American doctors. In June 1944, the east wing opened, initially comprising a basement and first floor. This wing was soon expanded with a second and third floor opening in February 1945. These floors were designed to house nursing students with the plan that they would later be converted to additional space for patients. By 1946, women doctors were practicing at the hospital.
1962
4320 Seminary Road
The Seminary Road location operating today opened in 1962. Until 1974, the two hospitals operated at the same time as two locations of the Alexandria Hospital system.
Construction for the hospital at Seminary Road and North Howard Street began on December 7, 1959. The community worked with state and federal authorities to fund the new facility. Half of the cost came from state and federal grants and the other half was provided by a community fundraising drive. The hospital opened on January 14, 1962 with a dedication ceremony including Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. The new hospital provided integrated facilities and care in a state-of-the art-building with features such as every room having its own thermostat, an automatic nurse-call system for every bed, and one of the first Neonatal Intensive Care Units in the country. The facility had a pneumatic tube system for deliveries and messages, industrial laundry facilities, closed-circuit television, a backup power plant, and a new “Visit Vision” service --- a closed-circuit camera and microphone in the hospital lobby that allowed for virtual visits between patients and visitors, such as young children, who were not permitted in patients’ rooms.
Over time, the new hospital was renovated and expanded as the course of medicine dictated. The Nursing Health Education Center addition opened in 1974.Another change was the addition of corporate support to the local support. As the economics for a small stand-alone hospital became more challenging, Alexandria Hospital joined the non-profit Inova Health System in 1997.
