The former Mary H. Thompson Hospital in Fulton Market is still standing, but now the property is a 210-unit luxury apartment building near Fulton Market. Its name — The Thompson at Fulton Market — is an homage to both the hospital and its namesake, Dr.
Mary Thompson, who is recognized as Chicago's first female doctor and the first woman known to have performed a major surgery in the city. In 1865, Thompson opened the city's first hospital dedicated to treating women and children. She then established both a medical school and a nursing school for women.
The five-story brick and limestone building was constructed decades after Thompson died. It was most recently part of the Women's Treatment Center, but the pandemic worsened the center's already dire financial situation. It closed in 2021 and the site was sold that year to Naperville-based developer Marquette Cos.
Property records do not show the sale price. Marquette's project was part adaptive reuse of a century-old hospital structure and part new construction. The developer demolished a wing of the hospital and constructed a new 12-story building.
But its health care roots are still visible through an...
Abby Miller.