Just as the Memorial Hospital started out in the mansion of Samuel Davis, the City Hospital had its beginnings in the Bigelow Mansion. However, rather than private funding, it was created on may 23, 1871 by an act of state legislature.

In the fifties I worked at City Hospital on and off as an orderly or housekeeper. My buddy Jack McGuinness and I used to often trade jobs when either of us got fired from housekeepering or nursing. On the one occasion that we were working together in housekeeping they made the mistake of letting us assist some painters in painting the lobby of the old hospital lobby. On either side of the lobby hung portraits of 18th century Worcester luminaries Mr Jacques and Mr Thayer. Jack and I took down both portraits so the walls could painted. Beneath each portrait were brass plates bearing the names of the above personage. We left thee in place. When it was time to replace the portraits we decided that we would see if the luminaries fame had seriously declined in the minds of their fellow Worcesterites, especially those in charge of City Hospital. We screwed Mr Jacques portrait to the wall over Mr Thayer's nameplate and vice versa. For years I would check and found nobody was the wiser. Ah, fame is so fickle! Bob Doyle

In "61-62" I worked as an X-Ray clerk at Worcester City Hospital. I remember some great foreign interns and residents; one Greek fellow and a Chinese doctor in particular and wonder where they are, today. If anyone knows about Dr. Chu (Choo) or Dr. Cotselimbus (sp.?) please reply. Ami

from a 1900 book about worcester http://www.archive.org/stream/dictionaryofworc00rice/dictionaryofworc00rice_djvu.txt Hospital, (The City)— This institution was incorporated May 25, 1871, and was opened at the Abijah Bigelow house on the corner of Front and Church streets, Oct. 25, 1871. George Jaques soon after gave three and a half acres of land on Prince street (now Jaques avenue) as a site for a hospital, and at his death left the remainder of his estate, in value nearly $200,000 as a fund for its support. The Jaques homestead, at the corner of Wellington and Chandler streets, was occupied as a hospital from January, 1874, to December 8, 1881, when the present building on Jaques avenue was ready for use. At first there were only the main building and two wards, but in 1882 another ward was added, and later the Gill and Salisbury wards were built from funds given by Mrs. Sarah W. Gill and Stephen Salisbury, Esq. Mrs. Helen C. Knowles gave at her death $25,000 for the erection and maintenance of a lying-in ward, and this has been completed, and is known as the "Knowles Maternity." There are now seventy beds at the Hospital, and over 1,000 patients are treated yearly. A training school for nurses has been established at the hospital. The institution is under the direction of a board of seven trustees. Dr. Charles A. Peabody is the superintendent. The sum of $15,000 was appropriated by the City Government for the support of the hospital for the present year (1892).