Site V
Turn left at the traffic light just before the Museum
of Science and Industry and follow the parkway to Lake Shore Drive.
Turn right and follow Route 41 south through Jackson Park. Be sure
to stay to your left so as not to exit to Jeffery Avenue. Stay on
Route 41 (South Shore Drive), passing the Jackson Park Marina
on the left.
Just beyond the marina is La Rabida Children's Hospital and
Research Center. This important charitable institution owes its
existence to the World's Columbian Exposition. The original hospital
building was erected by Spain to serve as the Columbus Memorial
during the fair. It was a reproduction of the Franciscan monastery
of La Rabida near the city of Palos. The monks of Palos befriended
Columbus and helped him convince the Spanish monarchy to finance
his journey to the new world. The Spanish consul in Chicago offered
the building as a children's sanitarium after the fair. The original
reproduction was demolished in 1935 and was eventually replaced
with the three buildings we see today. La Rabida cares for chronically
ill children of all economic levels who pay according to their
family's ability.
The above photograph shows La Rabida in Jackson Park in 1911.
This postcard shows the replicas of the La Rabida Monastery and
Columbus's Santa Maria flagship.
«
previous 12
of 14
next
»
|
