Downtown in Columbus in Franklin County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Starling Medical College and St. Francis Hospital

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., October 17, 2008

1. Starling Medical College and St. Francis Hospital Marker

Inscription. This site, now Grant Medical Center, was the original location of the neo-gothic building that housed St. Francis Hospital and Starling Medical College, named for Columbus benefactor Lyne Starling. Established in 1849, Starling Medical College/St. Francis Hospital was significant as it was the first institution in the United States, governed by a single board of trustees, designed to combine patient care and clinical teaching in the same building. The Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis served the hospital during its existence. Starling Medical College was the forerunner of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and St. Francis Hospital continued as a teaching hospital until it closed in 1955 and was later razed in 1957.

Erected 1996 by Academy of Medicine, Grant/Riverside Methodist Hospitals, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 21-25.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Charity & Public Work • Notable Buildings • Science & Medicine. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1849.

Location. 39° 57.659′ N, 82° 59.534′ W. Marker is in Columbus

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

, Ohio, in Franklin County. It is in Downtown. It is at the intersection of State Street and 6th Street, on the right when traveling east on State Street. Marker is immediately north of Grant Hospital Emergency & Trauma Center entrance. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Columbus OH 43215, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Ohio’s Scioto Valley.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Loving Lived Here (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Crossroads of Commerce (about 700 feet away); Columbus Main Library / Judge Noah Swayne Home (about 700 feet away); Discovery Park (approx. 0.2 miles away); Site of First Wendy's Restaurant (approx. 0.2 miles away); Holy Cross Rectory (approx. 0.2 miles away); Holy Cross Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); St. Joseph Cathedral (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Columbus.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., October 17, 2008

2. Starling Medical College and St. Francis Hospital Marker

Grant Hospital behind marker.

<i>St. Francis Hospital, Columbus, O.</i> image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Detroit Publishing Company, circa 1905

3. St. Francis Hospital, Columbus, O.

Grant Medical Center image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Doda, April 17, 2026

4. Grant Medical Center

Credits. This page was last revised on April 22, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 24, 2008, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 2,760 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 24, 2008, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 3. submitted on November 29, 2014. 4. submitted on April 19, 2026, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.