St. Luke Medical Center

St. Luke Medical Center
The exterior of the hospital c. June 2023
Geography
Location	2632 E Washington Blvd, Pasadena, California, United States
Coordinates	34°10′09.63″N118°05′46.89″W / 34.1693417°N 118.0963583°W / 34.1693417; -118.0963583
Organization
Care system	Tenet Healthcare
Funding	For-profit hospital
Type	Community hospital
Religious affiliation	Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange
Affiliated university	University of Southern California
Patron	St. Luke
Network	Tenet Health Systems
Services
Standards	Joint Commission
Emergency department	Level III trauma center
Beds	165
History
Opened	1933
Closed	2002
Links
Website	https://web.archive.org/web/20010518071749/http://www.stlukemedical.com/home/home.cfm
Lists	Hospitals in California

St. Luke Medical Center is an abandoned 165-bed hospital located in the northeastern region of Pasadena, California. Upon opening in 1933, the hospital was one of only 2 hospitals to serve the city of Pasadena for nearly 70 years, in tandem with Huntington Hospital on the western side of the city. ^[1] St Luke ultimately closed in 2002 due to financial issues stemming from the hospital's parent company Tenet Healthcare. The hospital has since become a famous location for filming as it has appeared in various music videos, TV shows, and movies over the years.

History

The hospital was originally built in 1933 to serve the Northeastern communities of Pasadena, Altadena, and Sierra Madre. The hospital was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange to act as a medical facility for the local area in tandem with Huntington Hospital (opened in 1892). Multiple wings were constructed to branch out of the main building over the years. The hospital also included an original chapel on the Northeast corner of the property, the critical care wing was originally constructed in 1945, the original operation wings were completed in 1948. In 1976 another wing was added to increase the number of beds of use for patient care, by 1984, two new office buildings and a co-generation facility were also added. ^[2] Despite the renovations; the hospital was negatively reviewed in several local news articles in 1986 criticizing its antiquated buildings and limited capacity of patients housed, prompting the building to receive its final two structural additions in 1988 and 1990 respectively. The hospital was purchased by Oronda Health Group in 1994 and continued to receive further funding to modernize the facility following Oronda's acquisition by Tenet Healthcare in 1997. St Luke would also sign into a contractual affiliation with Keck School of Medicine of USC in 1994. ^[3]

Decline

Patient Records from St Luke c. 2000

Through much of the late 1990s, Tenet was negatively criticized on numerous occasions for their management of the St Luke as patients and local residents noted the declining service within the hospital despite the then-recent renovations. ^[4] Tenet Healthcare's then-CEO Jeffrey Barbakow also received much scrutiny for his financial practices, as the network was regularly criticized for their poor management and closures of numerous hospitals across the network in an effort to appease Tenet's shareholders. ^{[5] [6]} Further adding to St Luke's decline; Huntington Hospital completed multiple expansive renovations in 1998; ^[7] drawing in more patients away from the area and seeing more of St. Luke's personnel transfer out of the aging hospital. On January 5, 2002, Tenet Healthcare announced they would permanently close the facility by the end of the month, citing the hospital's inability to reach fiscal goals for the company dating back to 2000. Jeffrey Barbakow and Tenet continued to receive criticism after relocating the company's corporate offices to Santa Barbara and later issuing him an undisclosed severance payout following his resignation later that year. ^[8] The hospital closed permanently on January 25, 2002, with its emergency room closing two weeks later, on February 10, 2002. ^{[9] [10]}

Front Facade of the hospital in 2022, Boarded over due to vandalism

Post-Closure

Former Patient Entrance c. 2022

The year following the closure; Tenet sold the property to Caltech for use as a research facility due to its location at the base of Eaton Canyon. However; the university saw very little of use in the aging facility and sold the property in 2007 to Denley Investments; a Beverly Hills based real estate company. Due to the original chapel's location on site and the original structure's age, the city of Pasadena filed the hospital as a historical landmark; preventing initial demolition plans scheduled for 2003. ^[11] For several years following its closure, the property became a prominent film location due to its low cost and size, prominently featuring in such movies as Kill Bill: Volume 1 and La La Land. In 2013 the hospital was briefly evaluated by the city of Pasadena for possible reuse as an urgent care facility, however; the proposal was quickly vetoed as the location was deemed too outdated to meet current state standards.

The Entrance to the Psychiatric Ward at St Luke's Hospital

Following the initial closure in 2002, and the sale from Caltech in 2007; the hospital was left with a large amount of remaining medical equipment and beds. At some point around 2011, Denley covered nearly all of Tenet's signage around the property. ^[12] In 2012, Denley Investments used the property to install a cell tower on the back of the hospital's copper dome in a contractual lease with T-Mobile. The hospital’s southern parking lot would also be briefly leased out to a charter bus company for parking. The hospital would continue to fall victim to vandalism, scrapping, and neglect during the late 2010s, as Denley had minimized expenses on security up to that point. Mehdi Bolour, CEO of Denley Investments would be arrested on September 13, 2018, after investigators had discovered he was involved in operations illegally renting apartments across Los Angeles county. ^[13] Bolour's offices had previously been raided by Los Angeles police in May 2018 after it was discovered his associates had been smuggling illegal drugs and firearms to numerous properties owned by Denley. ^[14] Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell later criticized Bolour, exclaiming; "He is the stereotypical slumlord, and we're going after him, it's that simple". ^[15]

Today

The copper Dome covered in graffiti by taggers c. June 2023

The main elevator, covered in graffiti

A former Nurse station c. 2023

In 2019; Bolour ordered for most of the lower-level windows to be boarded over, and installed security lights to repel vandals and the homeless population. The city of Pasadena once again examined the property in March 2020 for possible reuse during the COVID-19 pandemic, but plans were thwarted as city contractors noted that the building's plumbing and electrical wiring were damaged by vandals. ^[16] In April 2023; vandalism had further accelerated across the building; as vandals had begun scrapping copper wiring, tagging much of the exterior, and shattering numerous windows around the property. ^[17] Mehdi Bolour claimed to have filed for a $7 million insurance payout in an effort to repair the damage to the property, though little action has since been taken. Since Bolour's statement; vandals have regularly broken into the property, with graffiti beginning to cover much of the exterior and the copper dome. ^{[18] [19] [20] [21]} In July 2023, Bolour began delegating cleanup of the property to his associates pending his insurance payout. Pasadena Police have also begun a regular sweep of the property on a weekly basis to repel further vandals and scrappers. As of September 2023; the hospital property has been further fortified with a large perimeter fence and is equipped with motion detectors. Facing pressure from Pasadena city council, most of the external graffiti has been painted over and lower level entrances have been barricaded with steel plates. ^[22]

As a filming location

Notable works shot at St. Luke include the following:

Films

• Equinox (1970)
• Halloween II (1981)
• Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) ^[23]
• Dead End (2003)
• Starsky & Hutch (2004)
• Step Brothers (2008)
• Catatonic (2015) ^[24]
• La La Land (2016) ^[25]

Television programs

• No Greater Love (1986) ^[26]
• MacGyver (2016–21)
• Scream Queens (2015-2016) (second season)

Music videos

• One Finger and a Fist - Drowning Pool (2013) ^[27]
• Run - Foo Fighters (2017) ^[28]

See also

• Linda Vista Community Hospital
• Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center
• LAC+USC Medical Center
• Huntington Hospital
• Lindy Boggs Medical Center

References

1. "Photo Essay of Pasadena's Vacant Hospital".
2. "Saint Luke's Medical Center".
3. "St Luke Medical Center Pasadena CA".
4. "Jeffrey Barbakow: Lost & Found".
5. "Jeffrey Barbakow: Lost & Found".
6. "Makeover on Tap for Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center".
7. "Huntington Hospital Healthcare Impact Report" (PDF).
8. "With No Surprise, Chief Leaves Tenet Healthcare".
9. Dimassa, Cara Mia (January 5, 2002). "After 68 years, Money Woes Force the Closure of St. Luke's Medical Center". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 2, 2022.
10. "Closure of St Luke Medical Center: Issues, Impacts, and Responses" (PDF).
11. "CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL RESOURCES INVENTORY DATABASE DPR523B".
12. "Pasadena Declares Abandoned St Luke's Hospital an Nuissance, Calls for Cleanup".
13. "City files charges against owner of building where squatters were removed in Hollywood".
14. "Vacant Hollywood Building Searched Amid Drugs, Weapons Investigation".
15. "St. Luke's Hospital in Pasadena is labeled a public Nuissance".
16. "City Cannot Use Shuttered St. Luke's Medical Center to Treat Patients".
17. "Police Have Responded to Dozens of Calls For Service at Dilapidated Hospital Site".
18. "Pasadena hospital building deemed public nuisance, attracting spike in criminal activity".
19. "Dilapidated St. Luke's Hospital Deemed Public Nuisance".
20. "Pasadena looks to take legal steps to clean up 'public nuisance' St. Luke's hospital".
21. "St. Luke Hospital in Pasadena is labeled a public nuisance".
22. "Cleanup Underway at St. Luke Hospital Site".
23. "Kill Bill Volume 1 Film Locations".
24. "Catatonic (2015)".
25. "Filming Location: St Luke Medical Center".
26. Avery, Sue (July 25, 1985). "Hospital Becomes Set in TV Special". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 2, 2022.
27. "Drowning Pool release official video for One Finger and a Fist".
28. "Watch the Foo Fighters' Newest Video for 'Run'".