Historic Timeline
 1895
Members of a service organization known as the King's Daughters set up an innovative day nursery to assist poor families which would later propel the King's Daughters to propose establishing a children's hospital in Los Angeles.
1900
Two-hundred printed handbills circulated through the city inviting Los Angeles citizens to participate in plans for a children's hospital. The printing was financed with proceeds from needlework supervised by Mrs. E.A. Williams, who is remembered with Mrs. Jennie Horrell, Mrs. G.W. Smith and Mrs. W.P. Lewis as early leaders of the hospital movement. 
On November 13th, the first public meeting under the auspices of the King's Daughters was held at the old YMCA building on Fort Street (now Broadway) near Second Street in downtown Los Angeles. By-laws subsequently adopted stipulated that a board of 15 women would serve as the hospital's Board of Managers in charge of the new hospital and the appointment of visiting physicians.
Seven women would comprise the Board of Directors to handle the business affairs of the corporation. A Board of Counselors would be available to them for legal and financial advice. Fundraising would be the province of the women Managers, and it was a task they undertook with energy and aplomb.
 April 4, 1901
The hospital was formally incorporated as the Childrens Hospital Society of Los Angeles, under the laws of California. Comprising the Board of Directors were Mrs. L.E.M. Brainerd, Miss M.F. Wills, Mrs. F.W. Wood, Mrs. B. Baruch, Mrs. W.L. Williams, Mrs. J.R. Newberry and Miss Amelia Smead. Miss Marion Hooker was seated shortly thereafter.
The indefatigable members of the new Childrens Hospital Society managed to secure an interim site for the hospital at the southwest corner of Alpine and Castelar (now Hill) Streets (part of today's Chinatown business and tourist district). The property had been the home of General Edward Bouton, a Civil War hero who had served as chief of artillery under General Sherman and had been lauded for his leadership by President Abraham Lincoln. General Bouton was approached by the hospital committee, and he responded with a long-term lease at nominal rent and liberal terms including an option for purchase.
1902
Well wishers and visitors were invited to the little house at 769 Castelar Street on January 22 to inspect the premises and join the hospital's Directors in celebrating the opening of the hospital. During the hospital's first fiscal year (through March 30, 1902) 14 patients were admitted.
The hospital received a generous gift, one that was to have long-term benefits, when hospital supporter Mrs. L.C. Goodwin deeded to the Childrens Hospital Society a property located on Broadway between Fifth and Sixth Streets. The lease on the property yielded $3,000 a year to the Society and funds could be borrowed for improvements at the Castelar house.
Not selling the property at once was a savvy business decision made by the women Managers. The Goodwin gift would become important in the hospital's move to more modern quarters 10 years later.
 1904
The Castelar Street house was enlarged and remodeled to accommodate 20 patients.
The kitchen pantry was converted to a "surgery suite".
1905
The hospital's Visiting Nurses Program began. During the program's first year, 31 children and 15 adults were visited and cared for in their homes.
1906
Mrs. Emma Phillips revised her Last Will and Testament to include a bequest to the Society of land she owned in Hollywood. She specified that the land be used for a building and play yard. In her Will she included cash gifts to be applied to construction and landscaping and requested that the building be called the "Lillian Home" in memory of her daughter, Lillian Fellows Burdett.
This early example of "planned giving" would later provide the Society almost four acres of land situated in a largely undeveloped, remote part of the city, the southeast corner of Sunset Boulevard and Vermont Avenue. The generous gift would hasten realization of a permanent, well-equipped hospital.
 1907
The financial panic of 1907 brought difficult times for the hospital but brought good fortune in the selection of Mrs. Albert Crutcher as president. Kate Page Crutcher was to direct the Society's activities for the next 40 years.
As a result of the financial panic of 1907, an auxiliary of 10 young women came forward to do mending and sew hospital gowns. Within a year, the 10 became 80. The first officers, Miss Susan W. Carpenter, Miss Ruth Sterry, Miss Mary S. Clark and Miss Lucille K. Chandler, had the foresight to organize the group into units which then took charge of diverse duties. This first of the many future auxiliaries established a pattern of assistance that would become invaluable to the hospital.
1909
Following the death of Mrs. Emma Phillips on October 25, 1909, the hospital Board set out to effectuate her wishes in building a better equipped hospital that could meet the increasing needs of the community.
1912
The downtown property donated by Mrs. L. C. Goodwin was sold during the real estate boom that Los Angeles was experiencing and brought an astounding $225,000. The proceeds from Mrs. Emma Phillips, Mrs. L.C. Goodwin, and other generous gifts ensured construction of an ambitious new building.
Groundbreaking on construction for the new hospital took place on November 26. The new construction at the outlying region of Sunset and Vermont would increase the 20-bed hospital to a 100-bed facility.
1914
The much-anticipated grand opening of the new hospital took place, with President Woodrow Wilson officiating from the White House via telegraph. An accredited School for Nurses was established.
1915
The newly-opened Outpatient Department increased its patient load so quickly that it was necessary to expand it from one room to three its first year.
 1916
The newly opened "Roentgen Ray" Department (Radiology) and the Orthopedic Department are enlarged.
1919
A Salvage Department is established at 712 Maple Avenue with a business plan directed at obtaining a permanent and steady income by operating a mercantile establishment transforming salvage of all kinds into cash.
1920
A new Physiotherapy Department was established for treatment of the child patients by natural forces such as light, heat, water, electricity, massage, manipulation and exercise.
1922
The hospital benefited from the donated services of additional specialty practitioners: an oral surgeon, neurological surgeon, oculist, psychiatrist, dermatologist, pathologist, and anesthetist.
1926
The Childrens Hospital Society commemorates its Silver Anniversary-25 years of service to children. The occasion was celebrated with a festive open house inviting the public to bring silver to make the anniversary memorable. Such contributions plus the financing that had been obtained would allow needed new construction to go forward in answer to the overcrowding and shortage of facilities.
1927
Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new construction take place on May 5th. The new East Wing, more than twice the size of the original building, would cover 47,747 square feet of floor space.
1928
The work on the new East Wing is completed and it is officially opened.
1932
An important affiliation was established with the University of Southern California School of Medicine. This fundamental relationship was to serve as an academic umbrella and make possible the recruiting of highly qualified physicians and scientists.
1934
A new orthopedic building was designed and was dedicated to Mrs. Crutcher on April 2nd.
1936
The Serum Center opened. It was the only serum laboratory in the West and one of seven such centers in the United States meeting the specifications of the National Institute of Health and licensed by the United States Public Health Service. Serums from Childrens Hospital Los Angeles were sent to doctors throughout the United States and flown to Mexico and Honolulu.
1 939
Childrens Hospital surgeon John C. Jones made history on March 29th by performing the first pediatric heart surgery on the West Coast. This was the first of a series of milestones in this important field of pediatric medicine.
1943
The Junior League of Los Angeles presents its Convalescent Home on nearby Westmoreland Avenue to the hospital. The Childrens Hospital Convalescent Home continued to serve the community by caring for children who required longer periods of treatment.
 1948
Following the end of World War II, plans to expand the hospital were begun. A new building was to be erected on Sunset Boulevard between the 1914 hospital building and the nurses' home on Vermont Avenue. The design called for a 12-story building that would have the long-talked of private pavilion and would bring the hospital's total bed count to 365. The women Managers and Directors set out to raise the unprecedented funds needed.
1951
Mrs. Gabriel Duque is recruited to head the hopsital's auxiliary groups.
1953
Childrens Hospital was fortunate to be a recipient of funds from the Michael J. Connell Foundation. Mr. Connell was a successful banker, civic leader, sportsman and philanthropist who established a foundation for charitable purposes.
The funds enabled the construction of the new Michael J. Connell Building, which provided outpatient facilities for twice the previous patient load. The Outpatient Departments were comprised of 38 specialized clinics.
1954
Construction commenced on the hospital's great new research building financed through the generosity of the Santa Anita Foundation. The facility included three stories to house the laboratories and a one-story auditorium with a seating capacity of 230. The new structure, of modern design, was to face Sunset Boulevard, east of the existing hospital.
The institution pioneered pediatric open-heart surgery in Southern California.
Mrs. Albert Crutcher dies. Mrs. Crutcher was President of the hospital from 1907 until 1946.
1960
The cost of care at Childrens Hospital had soared to $3.7 million annually, and the hospital reported 105,000 outpatient clinic visits, with nearly 10,000 children admitted to hospital beds.
1961
The name of the hospital was changed from Childrens Hospital Society to the briefer Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles.
1962
Dr. John C. Wilson, Jr. elected as the Chairman of the Medical Staff. Dr. Wilson's father was the hospital's first intern in 1912.
 1963
The Medical Staff of Childrens Hospital numbered 456, yet only 31 members were full- time hospital paid staff. The majority of the doctors still gave their time and services without charge.
Adolescent Program started by Dr. Donald Weston.
Fundraising begins in earnest for a replacement hospital facility, an unfulfilled dream since the 1940s.
1964
Dr. Robert Ward served as the hospital's Physician-in-Chief and as Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine and later served as the hospital's Research Director.
Dr. Ward played a key role in selecting and acquiring respected leaders as heads for the departments of Pathology, Radiology, Surgery and Anesthesia. Dr. Wards's activities were central in helping Childrens Hospital's formal transition from a community-based center to a nationally and internationally known institution.
1965
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is the first on the West Coast to perform a successful surgical remedy for transposition of arteries.
 1966
The hospital's Research Institute opened amid expectation that increased molecular understanding of the human cell, together with the developing technology of gene therapy, could mean ultimate control of pediatric cancers, inherited disorders and other devastating diseases of childhood.
1967
The hospital's Division of Nephrology (kidney) was founded. The first living-related transplant occurred on February 8.
A separate Adolescent Medicine unit is opened, and the hospital becomes the first pediatric center in the West to offer a separate, specialized service for hospitalized teenagers.
1968
The magnificent new Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles was officially dedicated on Sunday afternoon, September 29th.
1971
Dr. Robert "Mac" McAllister, distinguished scientist and head of the hospital's Virology Research Division, discovered the most likely candidate for a human C-type virus yet found. If virus RD 114 were indeed a human cancer virus, it would provide some of the first solid evidence of the viral etiology of cancer, a tremendous medical advance.
 1973
The modern styled McAlister Building was completed in March. It was designed and equipped to provide the finest possible setting for the delivery of Emergency Services and Ambulatory Patient Care. The single most innovative feature of the McAlister Building was the introduction of a new concept in the organization and delivery of Ambulatory Patient Care. The concept was a radical departure from traditional outpatient clinics with their interminable waiting lines, crowded seating space and often-fragmented patient care.
A convalescent facility was included as the top floor of the McAlister Building, eliminating the need for the Convalescent Home. The former building that housed the Convalescent Home was turned over to the Division of Adolescent Medicine.
1977
The dedication of the hospital's newest building, named for Board of Directors member and noted Southeran California philanthropist, George C. Page, took place on December 12, 1977.
1978
Extraordinary inflation affected the nation and challenged Childrens Hospital with soaring costs and a severe disruption to the hospital's critical cash flow. The hospital underwent efforts to reduce operating costs, which would compromise the institution's high standard of care.
 1980
The 36 bed Weingart Foundation Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) on the second floor of the George C. Page Building marked another milestone in the hospital's history of providing the best possible pediatric medicine. It was the largest PICU in the Western United States, adding to the hospital's capability for treating the most serious pediatric cases.
1982
The hospital now served as the principal referral source for critically ill babies and children in the southwestern United States. It admitted approximately 14,000 patients annually and operated one of the nation's busiest pediatric ambulatory patient services.
Medical advances are made in the hospital's Oncology Program addressing leukemia, the most prevalent form of childhood cancer. Doctors at the hospital were jubilant that more than 400 long-term survivors had been disease-free from five to more than 25 years. By using advanced chemotherapy together with multidisciplinary supportive care, the hospital's doctors and staff were able to give children a 90-95% chance of remission.
1983
The hospital's Immunology Program begins in 1983 for treatment of children with immune system deficiencies. Also in this period, the Plastic Surgery Division opened.
The hospital's new center dedicated to full-service craniofacial care produced outstanding results. The Craniofacial and Cleft Center offered a wide spectrum of specialized treatments, with the majority of patients seeking treatment for cleft palates and cleft lips. Since its founding, the Center has become one of the largest and most respected services of its type in the world.
 1988
The H. Russell and Jeanne R. Smith Research Tower, named for the hospital chairman who served as steward of the beleaguered institution in its most troubled days in the early 1980s, was completed. The 10-story research facility symbolized the dynamic future for Childrens Hospital as an international leader in pediatric research and medicine.
1990
Mrs. Gabriel C. Duque dies in her sleep. Mrs. Duque had raised more than $100 million for Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and had watched it grow from a community-based facility to the greatest pediatric medical center in the West.
For the first time, U.S. News and World Report cites Childrens Hospital as one of the top five pediatric facilities in the country and the best pediatric hospital on the West Coast.
1992
The Outpatient Tower opens. It is accessed by a pedestrian bridge that crosses DeLongpre Street. The George C. Page Childrens Hospital Center is opened in an attempt to offer economically disadvantaged patients better options for basic, non-emergency health care. The Center was the first of its kind in California, providing acute and urgent care, primary care, immunizations, lab tests, referrals, subspecialty resources and community-oriented education.
1993
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles surgeon, Dr. Vaughn Starnes, head of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and his team perform the world's first double lobar lung transplant.
The world's first gene therapy procedure is performed on three newborns. The procedure, which also involved the first transfer of genetic material into the blood of a baby's stem cell-rich umbilical cord, was performed on infants who were diagnosed in utero with a form of severe combined immunodeficiency, commonly known as "bubble boy disease".
 1996
The Heart Institute at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is established. It is recognized as a worldwide leader in the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric heart disease.
The hospital's cancer related programs are consolidated as the Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases. It is the largest pediatric hematology/oncology program in the nation; the Center records nearly 20,000 outpatient visits each year. The Center is committed to and has become a leader in identifying innovative and effective new treatments for some of the worst cancers and blood diseases plaguing children.
1998
The hospital's new Liver Transplant Program began, and young patients in need of liver transplants no longer need to be referred to other facilities.
 March 16, 1999
Groundbreaking for the Marion and John E. Anderson Building and Burtie Green Bettingen Surgery Center.
November 13, 2000
Kick off for the hospital's Centennial Celebration.
May 18, 2001
Dedication of the Marion and John E. Anderson Building and the Burtie Green Bettingen Surgery Center.
"Happy 100th Birthday Party"--The Centennial Gala to benefit Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.
 May 19-20, 2001
Centennial Celebration Weekend Family Festival and Street Fair at Sunset and Vermont.
Above adapted from "Childrens Hospital and the Leaders of Los Angeles," by Margaret Leslie Davis.
June 29, 2003
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles dedicated its internationally-known Research Institute as The Saban Research Institute of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, and its new 88,500 square-foot state-of-the-art research laboratory facilities as the Saban Research Institute Building, in recognition of Cheryl and Haim Saban’s “…commitment to the children and families of Los Angeles and children everywhere.”
September 10, 2003
A team of nearly 80 surgeons, physicians, nurses and other medical personel participated in a 24-hour surgical procedure to separate conjoined twin girls.
June 23, 2004
The Joyce and Stanley Black and Family Healing and Meditation Garden is dedicated, creating a special place for staff, patients, and families to enjoy a relaxing outdoor setting at our hospital.
 June 9, 2005
Ground was broken on a New Hospital Building and an exciting future in pediatric medicine. More than 300 donors, volunteers, staff members, dignitaries and guests gathered on the rooftop of the visitor parking structure, which was later razed to make room for the state-of-the-art inpatient facility, scheduled to open in 2010. Walter W. Noce, Jr., then the hospital’s chief executive officer, told the receptive crowd that the groundbreaking represented “the dawn of a new era for Childrens Hospital and a renewed commitment to the children and families of Los Angeles, the surrounding counties and children everywhere.”
June 14, 2006
A team of nearly 80 surgeons, physicians, nurses and other medical personnel participated in a 24-hour surgical procedure to separate conjoined twin girls.
 March 9, 2008
The hospital reached a major milestone in its construction of the New Hospital Building: placement of the final structural steel beam, symbolizing that the structure’s steel framing is complete. The New Hospital Building will open in 2010 and will be a model pediatric inpatient facility.
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