Historic Houston Hospital Plaque Returns

The Tiffany & Co. bronze plaque was unveiled at the hospital's dedication on Juneteenth in 1926. It honors Lieutenant John Halm Cullinan, a World War I casualty, and was funded by his father, oilman Joseph S. Cullinan, who donated $80,000 to construct the hospital. The City of Houston contributed by donating the land for the facility. The hospital was founded to serve Black patients in a segregated Houston and was the first non-profit hospital for the city's African American community. It provided a crucial place of work for Black physicians like Drs. Benjamin C. Covington and Rupert O. Roett, who were barred from admitting patients to the "Black Wards" of other local hospitals. The entire staff at its opening was Black. In its early years, the hospital faced financial struggles and a shortage of patients. To attract patients, it established an X-Ray Department and a laboratory. It also launched the city's first nursing school for Black nurses in 1931, though the school later closed due to a lack of patients in the hospital for training. The plaque disappeared at some point after the hospital was expanded and renamed Riverside General Hospital in 1961. A historian discovered it had been sold by an antique dealer online. Following a news story about its disappearance, an anonymous couple who had purchased the plaque in 2018 for about $4,000 came forward and returned it. The original hospital building and the nursing school are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After closing in 2015, the campus has undergone a major renovation. The historic hospital is now reopening as a hub for Harris County Public Health, continuing its legacy of serving the community.