Image credit: Elyse Butler

Year: 2025

Text: Grady Hospital opened at this site on June 1, 1892, to provide medical care for low-income Atlanta families. Later, hospital facilities known as “The Gradies” served Black and White patients separately, until integration in 1965. Maintaining a commitment to innovation and equitable access, Grady was home to the first open-heart surgery in Georgia (1921), the world’s first cancer center (1923), and the first neurological suite with a stroke center (2013). By the early 2000s, many public hospitals like Grady were forced to close due to lack of funding. However, Grady’s future was secured in 2007 by a major fundraising campaign led by Pete Correll and other civic leaders that raised $350 million and solidified community support for the health system. Today, Grady Health System is Georgia’s largest hospital.

Erected by the Georgia Historical Society, the Grady Health Foundation, and the Correll Family Foundation

Tips for Finding This Marker: In front of Georgia Hall, the original site of Grady Hospital, 36 Jesse Hill, Jr. Dr., SE, in Atlanta

For more information, click this link to view the press release.