The Hill Building - Montgomery, Alabama
Posted by: 
xptwo
N 32° 22.588 W 086° 18.448
16S E 565145 N 3582376
The Hill Building served as the medical office of Dr. L. L. Hill in the early 20th century. It was the site, in the 1840s, for the work of Dr. J. Marion Sims. Both were medical pioneers.
Waymark Code: WMDGAZ
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 01/12/2012
Views: 4
The description from the book is as follows:
The HILL BUILDING (open weekdays 8:30-6), 21 S. Perry St., a two-story red-brick structure, was formerly the infirmary of Dr. J. Marion Sims. The Montgomery County Medical Association has placed a marker commemorating Dr. Sims on the-facade to the left of the entrance. The building now (1940) houses the offices of Dr. L. L. Hill, who attained renown as the first surgeon to operate successfully on the human heart. His son, Lister Hill, represents Alabama in the United, States Senate.
Dr. Sims began the practice of medicine in Lancaster, South Carolina, moved to Mount Meigs, Montgomery County, Alabama, in 1835, and finally to Montgomery, Here he performed the skillful surgical and therapeutic work on which his later fame rested. He was the first Southern physician to meet with success in treating clubfoot (strabismus): In 1845 he advanced the theory that trismus nascentium, a form of lockjaw, is due to mechanical pressure on the base of the brain. Following this discovery, he devised a method of curing abdominal fistula, and was the first surgeon to substitute the use of silver wire for silk sutures in closing surgical incisions. Later, Dr. Sims moved' to New York where he- founded the Woman's Hospital, and won an international reputation as a surgeon.
Alabama: A Guide to the Deep South, Montgomery Section, pp. 230-231.
The building is now the home of Cash Loan Company. There is a historical marker in front besides two plaques by the door. One plaque is the one described in the American Guide, while a second tells of Dr. Hill. The historical marker texts on the post on the sidewalk read:
Office of Dr. Luther Leonidas Hill
This early 20th-century building was office of Dr. L.L. Hill who, in 1902, performed first open heart surgery in the Western Hemisphere when he sutured a stab wound in a young boy's heart. A Montgomerian, Hill graduated in medicine from Jefferson Medical College and the University of the City of New York by the time he was 21. He then studied in London with the world renowned Dr. Joseph Lister. Hill practiced from 1884 until 1932, pioneering new ideas in antiseptic procedures in Alabama. He and a brother, Dr. R.S. Hill, founded Laura Hill Hospital named for their mother. L.L. Hill's son, Senator Lister Hill, introduced the Hill-Burton Act providing for hospitals across the nation.
Office Site of Dr. J. Marion Sims
"Father of Modern Gynecology"
On this site in 1840s stood small hospital of Dr. J. Marion Sims in which he made surgical history with his successful operations for urinary fistula in women. A South Carolinian, Sims studied at Charleston Medical School and Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia. He practiced briefly in his native state before coming to Mt. Meigs (1835) and Montgomery (1840). He left this city and, in 1853, founded a famous Women's Hospital in New York, gaining world renown for his work in the field of surgery for women. Among his patients were the Empress Eugenie of France and other members of European royalty. His statue is on the grounds of Alabama's Capitol.