JPS History
Plans for new patient towers figure prominently into the JPS Future Plan. Did you know this year marks the 50th anniversary of the existing JPS patient tower, which opened in 1971?
Here's a photo of that now familiar building when it was under construction during the summer of 1970.
At middle right, the original hospital building on the site can be seen before it was concealed beneath future expansion. At the bottom right corner, part of St. Joseph Hospital can be seen where the JPS Patient Pavilion now stands.
Pictures of the Past
When it was built 50 years ago, the JPS Patient Tower was a huge leap forward in efficiency and patient comfort.
Although it may seem dated now, the 11-story JPS Patient Tower was a huge leap forward when it opened 50 years ago.
Prior to the construction of the tower, the inpatient experience was very different than what we know today.
Like hairstyles and fashion, things at JPS have changed a lot over the past 50 years. But the mission of JPS stays the same: Providing the best care possible to anyone who needs it.
Although it may seem dated now, the 11-story JPS Patient Tower was a huge leap forward when it opened 50 years ago.
The site of the new JPS is vacant now. But did you know it was home to the first hospital built in Fort Worth, constructed in 1893?
A photo of the third hospital building constructed at the corner of South Main and Morphy streets in Fort Worth. This brick medical center, opened in 1898, replaced two previous wooded structures.
Cast piece from the façade of the brick structure built in 1898 to replace the wooden previous hospital.
St. Joseph Hospital was located where it stood because a railroad company wanted an infirmary built near its line. Rails still run along the property today, 128 years later.
A photo of the third hospital building constructed at the corner of South Main and Morphy streets in Fort Worth. This brick medical center, opened in 1898, replaced two previous wooded structures.
JPS Facts, Figures and Trivia
Until the JPS Bond Program adds several new structures to the Main Campus, the most recent addition there is the Patient Pavilion. The five-story structure houses an acute care treatment center and covers 233,000 square feet. It was opened in 2008.
JPS was known as the City-County Hospital until 1954 when it was officially renamed John Peter Smith Hospital, in honor of the former Mayor of Fort Worth who donated the land where it was built.
While the land was donated in 1877, JPS was not built in its current location until 1938 when Tarrant County out-grew the previous City-County Hospital.
The previous building, which opened in 1913, featured 25 beds.