{the new Shriners looking east from Highway 40/I-64 at Taylor Avenue}
The newly envisioned three-story, $47M Shriners Hospital will have a significant presence from Highway 40. Half a century after fleeing the city for the suburb of Frontenac, the hospital is moving to a new location on the city's largest medical campus, and just a block from its historic home. Located just east of Taylor on Clayton Avenue, the facility will be built on a surface parking lot.
The planned move was first made public in 2006, but the Shriners organization endowment, used to fund its hospitals nationwide, took a significant hit in the economic downtown. Today's project is much smaller than what was once envisioned. The project is set back from Clayton Avenue, instead opting to create a dominant visual presence next to the adjacent Interstate. Much of the exisiting surface parking remains. It's unclear if there is a long term need for the lot, or whether future development may occur here.
{view looking southwest from Clayton Avenue at Newstead}
{looking southeast from Clayton Avenue}
{looking southwest at entrance}
{visitors will be greated by an awning supported by a fez!}
{approximate site for new Shriners building in red}
The previous plan for the Shriners facility was larger, but arguaby less attractive:
Previous nextSTL story: New Shriners Hospital in St. Louis City Closer to Reality, Project Team Shares Images, Thoughts on Project
The first Shriners opened in the city in 1924, moving to Frontenac in 1963.
{detail of original Shriners building – still standing at Euclid and Clayton Avenue}
{Shriners Hospital, 1924 – still standing at Euclid and Clayton Avenue}
{Shriners Hospital in Frontenac, 1963}
Floorplans for new CWE facility:
