History of 1800 Livingston Ave.

1800 Livingston Ave. in Lorain Ohio is the last standing building in the complex of the former St. Joesph Hospital in Lorain Ohio. St. Joesph as a whole had a rich tie to the city of Lorain, when the first hospital was built in 1892, with a goal of building a hospital that was closer as the closest one at the time was in Cleveland. Expansions on the complex first occurred in 1916 when a large addition was added to the hospital. The Sisters of the Holy Humility of Mary took ownership of the hospital in 1927 and continued to make it a anchor of the city. The largest expansion came in 1950 when a expansion was done on the hospital adding a whole building to the already large hospital. Into the 60s the sisters acquired Lorain Community Hospital, which had been built in 1964. The external building in the complex at 1800 Livingston Ave. was built in 1980 and served as doctor offices and other smaller medical practices. Many medical offices operated out of the building, In 1994 St Joseph hospital merged Mercy Health at the complex they had acquired in the 60s. The Hospital later became a community center but was closed in 2013 after tenants complained of the problems of the aging building. 1800 Livingston appears to have operated still largely as medical offices into the 2010s but would be abandoned by September of 2016. With the St Joseph Hospital becoming abandoned in 2013 and the eyesore it became it was demolished in February of 2021. With the parking garage of the former hospital still standing as of June of 2025 with plans to demolish in the very near future, it will make 1800 Livingston the last remaining part of the once grand complex of St. Joseph Hospital.