The first black-owned hospital of Baltimore, Maryland, opened in 1855. It held 25 beds and cost patients $1 per day to receive care. The hospital hosted a church on the first floor and a medical school on the second, making the space a healing sanctuary for all. However, despite hopes for restoration, the building is soon to disappear. 

The hospital was opened by Dr. George Whittington Kennard, a black physician whose staff and patients were both racially diverse. Operations were performed on the third floor of the building, while prayers were hosted on the first and medical study on the second. Stepping over broken panels and pieces of crumbled wall, a team from WBAL-TV 11 searched the building and found old medicine bottles left behind. 

The current owner of the building, Jo Farley, hoped to restore the historical hospital, according to WBAL-TV. She set a plan to raise the necessary $2 million needed to complete repairs. However, Farley was not able to raise the funds. 

“I have to let it go,” Farley told WBAL-TV. “Forgive me. It kind of hurts to talk about it, but we did good things here.”

Several buyers are already interested in the property, WBAL-TV reported. Church services will be held in the homes of worshippers after she sells the building.