HISTORY
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resource-rich and “ ex-Confederate friendly ” environment . This produced a proliferation of proprietary medical schools , including LMC , founded in 1869 , with a largely ex-Confederate faculty . The school thrived over the next 20 years , and it acquired the will and resources to crown itself with a perfect , “ state of the art ” facility . Everything in planning and design of the $ 150,000 structure reflected the best available , making it the prime facility of the era . Herein , we will look at site selection , style and structure for insightful clues to medicine at that great , evolutionary time .
SEEKING CLINICAL EXPERIENCES : A CLUE FROM SITE SELECTION
Led by Clinton W . Kelly , MD , CM , the faculty selected and purchased for $ 17,500 a lot at the corner of 1 st and Chestnut Streets , just one and one-half blocks west of City Hospital . This reflects escalating priority for access to ward rounds experience . Over the 19 th century , the increasing importance of hospital experience is shown by this ever-closer movement of Louisville ’ s medical schools toward City Hospital ( Fig . 2 ). When Louisville Medical Institute was founded in 1837 , its site was at 8 th and Chestnut Streets , 10 blocks west of the Hospital . In mid-century when the Kentucky School of Medicine and LMC were first established , they rented facilities substantially closer between 3 rd and 6 th Streets north of Chestnut . After 1880 , medical schools would cluster immediately around the Hospital . The Hospital College of Medicine ( 1883 ) was directly across Chestnut Street , and LMC ’ s new ( 1891-4 ) building was just west , as noted . In 1898 , another new school , Kentucky University , selected a site just one block south of the Hospital .
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE STATEMENTS
In the late 19 th century , effective therapies derived from growing science began replacing ancient , ineffective therapies . Public esteem and professional self-esteem rose greatly , and the LMC builders expressed this architecturally . The popular Romanesque revival style was a perfect medium , as it featured elements from ancient Roman architecture and the style of Romanesque churches ( 5 th – 11 th centuries ). Roman structure projected authority and endurance
Fig . 5 Old Romanesque Churches ( A and B ) compared to ( C ) LMC ’ s Romanesque revival style . Decorative arches and columns are circled .
and Romanesque style echoed a higher calling and nobility of the church . Nationally , the Romanesque revival style was led by architect Henry Hobson Richardson , the leading U . S . architect of the times . The Romanesque revival image of stability , authority and nobility perfectly fit the new status of medicine , as well as America ’ s growing self-confidence from rising industrial might and international prominence . The leading Louisville architectural firm , Clarke and Loomis , was an admired practitioner of this style ( Fig . 3 ) and the limestone , Romanesque LMC building would be their finest work .
The rounded arches of Roman engineering provided enormous stability , as shown by enduring Roman Empire structures , such as the Pont du Gard aqueduct and Rome ’ s Colosseum . The plain form of the arch is seen in the Pont du Gard aqueduct and interior Colosseum structure ( Fig . 4A , 4B , right side ). In the more decorative form , the vertical elements were columns , often with Corinthian capitals , as seen in the Colosseum ’ s external facade ( Fig . 4B , left ) and Rome ’ s elegant Diocletian baths ( Fig . 4C ). Decorative Roman arches are a feature of nearly all Romanesque churches ( Fig . 5A , 5B ) and are prominent in the LMC building design ( Fig . 5C ).
Another feature of Romanesque architecture is lofty interior spaces with ribbed barrel vaults supported by arches ( Fig . 6A , 6B ). Clarke and Loomis recapitulated this motif by a series of interior arches in the LMC main hall ( Fig . 6C ). Corinthian capitals on columns were also favored in Roman and Romanesque architecture . These were used by Clarke and Loomis in the LMC Microscopy and Bacteriology Laboratory ( Fig . 7 ).
CLUES TO 19 TH CENTURY MEDICAL EDUCATION IN LMC STRUCTURES
LMC structure reflected 19 th century established educational practices and new breakthroughs . Lectures and demonstrations were then given in rising amphitheaters , often semi-circular in nature . The LMC main amphitheater was exceptionally large , with 600 seats rising two stories from the second floor above the Chestnut Street
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