Our
History
San Pedro
The hospital beginnings date back to 1909,
when Lillian B. Mullen, a nurse from New York,
established the hospital by leasing the Civil
War-era Clarence Hotel for $100 a month. With a
staff of 10 and 48 beds, the hospital also raised
chickens for Sunday meals. When it was more formally established in 1925, what became known as San Pedro General Hospital with 19 beds,
an operating room, deliver y room, and kitchen. It cost $19,000 to build. Private room fees for patients were $12 a day.
A new wing with 140 beds was dedicated in 1961 and the groundbreaking for the private room East wing occurred in 1970. The Little
Company of Mar y Sisters began operating the facility in 1992 and the medical center joined with Providence in 1999, formally becoming
Providence Little Company of Mar y Medical Center San Pedro.
The ministr y, a state-of-the-ar t facility, is licensed for 356 beds, and provides the latest in medical technology. The ministr y retains a
hometown feel thanks to the close-knit por t community it ser ves. Many of the physicians, nurses, volunteers, and other caregivers are
proud to say that they were born at the medical center.
The chapel in the San Pedro ministr y is designed to be reminiscent of a ship. It is, most-likely, a nod to St. Peter the Apostle, whose statue
sits outside the hospital. St. Peter was a fisherman when he was called by Jesus to follow him and became a " fisher of men (sic)." In the
Catholic tradition, Peter the Apostle is the patron saint of netmakers, shipbuilders, and fisherman, among other things.
The windows were designed by a Catholic Sister from the religious community in Montebello. The design of the windows is meant to reflect
the geography of San Pedro.
Our HistOry
5
