Test your knowledge of Samuel Merritt University and our community with fun Centennial Trivia!
- Construction on Samuel Merritt Hospital began in late 1905. What was it that happened as the South Ward was nearing completion that delayed its completion?
The 1906 earthquake destroyed brick walls and shook out windows of the solaris which decorated the front of the building.
- Why did the supervising architect, Nathaniel Blaisell, have to redesign the building entirely after construction had already begun?
The blueprints for the Hospital were lost in the fire which followed the earthquake in San Francisco.
- Where was the original site that Dr. Merritt and Dr. Agard had identified for construction of the Hospital?
Lake Street (now known as 17th, between Jackson and Oak).
- Where did the trustees feel was a better location? And why?
Webster Street between Hawthorne Avenue and 14th Street, because it was halfway between Oakland and Berkeley.
- How much was the final property purchased for in March, 1901?
$36,000
- Who were the former residents of the property?
The Female College of the Pacific which was established in 1895, eventually to become the Pacific Theological Seminary.
- Why was the location of the Hospital originally dubbed "Academy Hill"?
Because so many schools had been located in the area – the Hospital's site had also been the home of the Golden Gate Academy, later known as Hopkins Academy, while on what is now the northeast corner of 29th Street, stood the California Military Academy from 1868 until 1891.
- What was it that later happened that made "Academy Hill" become known as "Blackstone Hill" and subsequently "Pill Hill"?
When a number of lawyers selected the hill for their homes, the area became known as Blackstone Hill. It was after the opening of Samuel Merritt Hospital and the subsequent arrival of medical offices and two other hospitals Providence, 1926, and Peralta, 1928 that the area became known as "Pill Hill".
- Why did the original South Wing of Samuel Merritt Hospital have fireplaces?
Once the trustees secured an order from the Superior Court to go ahead with construction, Dr. Wheeler made a trip east to interest architects in submitting plans for Samuel Merritt Hospital, which explains the fireplaces in the former South Wing. Eastern hospitals were always designed with fireplaces as a necessity during the cold winter months and the architects were apparently unaware of California climate.