A hospital built to meet the needs of Greensboro’s African American community during the days of segregation soon will be recognized with a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker.
The marker commemorating L. Richardson Memorial Hospital will be dedicated during an indoor ceremony at Barber Park Event Center in Greensboro, N.C. (1500 Barber Park Dr., Greensboro, N.C.) on Thursday, May 15 at 11:30 a.m. The marker will be installed at the corner of Washington Street and Benbow Street following the ceremony.
L. Richardson Memorial Hospital was the first modern African American hospital facility in Greensboro and the only early modern hospital in the city where the original building survives. Richardson Memorial was preceded by two small institutions, Cordice Sanitarium which opened around 1914, and Trinity Hospital for Negroes, a private facility co-founded by Dr. S.P. Sebastian that opened in 1918.
The Greensboro Negro Hospital Association, which was created Jan. 20, 1923, sought a larger, modern facility for Greensboro’s African American residents. When the hospital opened in 1927, it had 60 beds. Monetary donations provided X-ray machinery and surgical equipment. A nursing school was established at the hospital in 1929 before it merged in 1954 with the nursing program at North Carolina A&T College. In 1934, the Greensboro Negro Hospital Association was renamed the L. Richardson Memorial Hospital, after Lunsford Richardson, pharmacist and founder of the Vick Chemical Company.
Richardson Memorial operated at its original location on South Benbow Road until June 1966 when it moved to Southside Boulevard. Renovations through the years added new patient beds and new equipment. In 1935, the hospital treated 900 patients annually and by 1955 the number had grown to 5,325 patients.
Until the 1960s, African American residents in Greensboro had hospital access only to Richardson Memorial until the Simkins v. Cone case led to the integration of hospitals. Ironically, this 1963 court decision resulted in the slow demise of the hospital, as many patients switched to integrated facilities. Financial problems mounted as the number of patients declined.
The hospital continued to operate as an independent local hospital devoted to the needs of the African American community until April 1994. When Louisville-based Vencor purchased Richardson Memorial in December 1993, it was renamed Vencor Greensboro. The hospital pivoted to providing specialized care for chronically ill patients. Following Vencor’s emergence from bankruptcy in 2001, the corporation changed its name to Kindred Healthcare. Today, the building is operated under the name Kindred Hospital.
For more information about the historical marker, please visit https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2024/08/09/l-richardson-memorial-hospital-j-128, or call (919) 814-6625.
The Highway Historical Marker Program is a collaboration between the N.C. departments of Natural and Cultural Resources and Transportation.
About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.