Parkland Hospital
Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Dallas first opened a city hospital on Lamar street in 1874, moving to Maple Avenue in the 1890s. In 1913, a new state of the art facility was erected, reflecting a nationwide movement toward modern medical care. The new building was the source of development for the neighborhood as a medical center and also the first home to Southwestern Medical College (now the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School). In 1954, Parkland Hospital relocated to a new facility at 5201 Harry Hines Blvd, where it set standards in healthcare and in medical advances. On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was taken to that facility following his assassination. Today, Parkland Hospital continues to be a leader in providing medical care to the needy.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Dallas opened its first city hospital in 1874, but the 1913 Parkland building marked its embrace of a national push toward modern medical care, seeding the surrounding neighborhood as a medical district and hosting the earliest Southwestern Medical College. In 1954 Parkland moved to its Harry Hines Boulevard campus, where it built a reputation for advancing healthcare for the needy. It entered the world's memory on November 22, 1963, as the hospital to which the mortally wounded President John F. Kennedy was rushed.
Why it matters
Parkland links the rise of modern American public medicine to one of the nation's most searing moments, the assassination of a president.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · John F. Kennedy
Related events
- · Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Dallas Baby Camp
Dallas, TX
In an era when American pediatrics lagged far behind other medicine, Dallas nurse May Forster Smith saw poor infants dying of dehydration and rallied her colleagues to act. In 1913 the Dallas Graduate Nurses Association opened the first baby camp in the Southwest—four Red Cross tents on the Parkland Hospital grounds—to treat sick babies and teach new mothers infant care. The camp grew into a cottage, then a Maple Avenue hospital, and in 1947 merged into what became Children's Medical Center of Dallas, one of the nation's largest pediatric providers.
Pediatric Orthopedic Care in Texas
Dallas, TX
Pediatric orthopedic care in Dallas grew from a 1921 effort by Masons who recruited the city's first orthopedic surgeon, Dr. William B. Carrell, to treat children—especially young polio patients—at the Hella Temple Free Clinic. The Scottish Rite Masons bought the growing hospital in 1926, and over the decades it pioneered work in dyslexia, scoliosis, clubfoot, limb reconstruction, and hand disorders. Renamed Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, it still treats children free of charge, supported entirely by donations.
Stephen J. Hay School
Dallas, TX
This campus honors Stephen J. Hay (1864–1916), a Georgia native who rose from paper-company executive to become, in 1907, the first mayor under Dallas's new commission-style government. During his tenure the city adopted its first plan by George Kessler, funded the founding of Southern Methodist University, and built White Rock Dam, the Houston Street Viaduct, and a new city hall. The elementary school named for him opened here in 1921 and gained its handsome Tudor Revival brick building in 1926.
North Dallas High School
Dallas, TX
North Dallas High School opened in 1922 on the city's northern edge — on land that had hosted the first Texas State Fair — as the school board scrambled to keep pace with a booming population. Designed by nationally known school architect William B. Ittner, it quickly built traditions, a fierce athletic reputation, and a devoted alumni association; a 1930 football game there drew a record 45,000 fans. Over the following decades desegregation and waves of immigration transformed its student body, and the school earned recognition as the first officially designated international school in the state and nation.