Jim Allison often came home from work and before dinner would go for a swim in the 70 foot by 22 foot swimming pool in the basement of his home, Riverdale Springs. One day in March 1914, he dove into the pool. The shock of the cool water brought on chest pains. Allison left the pool, took the elevator to the second floor, and dressed for dinner. At dinner, his chest pains continued, and a doctor was called who diagnosed the chest pains as a heart attack. He was only 41 years old. Heart disease ran in Allison’s family. His father, Noah, died of heart disease when he was 43 years old as did his brothers Dellmore at age 44 and Wallace at age 35.
Despite his health continuing to deteriorate, Allison continued to be active in business activities in Indianapolis including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Allison Engineering. During the winter months, he became actively involved in the development of Miami Beach. In 1921, Jack LaGorce, the National Geographic Society executive, reported that Allison had little strength and seemed depressed.
In early August 1923, he was diagnosed with bronchitis. By mid-August, he was hospitalized in Indianapolis for a sinus infection. Undergoing surgery for the sinus infection only aggravated the bronchitis. Following surgery, he also developed digestive issues. These medical issues caused additional stress upon his already weakened heart. Anxious to get back to Miami Beach, Allison traveled to Ft. Lauderdale where, while convalescing in a hospital, he had another heart attack. The stay at the Ft. Lauderdale hospital was depressing for Allison. The man who loved the outdoors was confined to a sterile white room and found the food poor.
His experiences left him determined to build a hospital in Miami Beach which would cater to the affluent. He wrote to his wife, “Take a sick person away from a luxurious home and put them in one of these rooms—and they often die.” He talked to his friend, Carl Fisher, about the idea which was a cross between the Mayo Clinic and Maxim’s. Enthusiastic, Carl gave him eight and a half acres on the southern tip of a man-made Allison Island.
Construction on the three-story Spanish style hospital began in 1925. It had 40 patient rooms, all with views of the water, a solarium and a boat dock. In accordance with Allison’s vision, a special effort was made to keep the building from having the white, sterilized atmosphere of the average hospital. The walls of the first floor, which contained offices, X-ray rooms, dental parlors, and emergency ward, and a dining room a kitchen were pale cream color. The operating rooms, located on the second floor, were painted a pale green. The patients’ rooms were painted a pale cream color. Elevators went to the roof where patients could enjoy the view of the ocean and Indian Creek.
The hospital facilities also included a separate laundry and a nurses’ residence. As plans for the hospital developed, Allison’s vision expanded to having a worldwide health resort occupying the whole island.
Beginning in 1923, Florida had been in a boom which created supply chain issues. Building in south Florida was outstripping the ability of the laborers to unload the building materials arriving on freight cars and steamers. As a result, prices soared.
Allison’s hospital opened on January 1, 1926. He had hired a French chef from the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. The food was served on fine china and the flatware was sterling silver. It opened with fifteen patients and nine staff doctors. Upon its opening, the hospital developed a reputation as one of the finest in the world.
The timing was terrible. The real estate boom peaked in 1925. Many visitors after the 1925 season returned home with tales of crowded conditions and inadequate housing. Things worsened when on January 11, 1926, the Prince Valdemar overturned in Biscayne Bay, effectively blocking the small Miami harbor for forty-two days. On September 18, 1926, a hurricane with winds of 132 mph hit Miami Beach causing significant damage. During the hurricane, the hospital provided refuge for 125 people and treated 150 people for injuries. While the hospital was flooded by two to three feet of water, it did not sustain significant damage other than broken windows.
Allison quickly realized that the economics for the hospital did not make sense and he approached a sanitarium to take it over. When the negotiations failed, Fr. William Barry suggested the Sisters of St. Francis in Allegany, New York, who had experience running a hospital. By this time, his health had deteriorated to the point that he was in a wheelchair and, according to his wife, was using narcotics for pain relief. With reluctance in September 1927, he agreed to let the Sisters of St. Francis run the hospital for a year. He soon regretted the decision. The Sisters slashed expenses including the use of paper napkins and firing of five landscapers. There was continuing conflict between Allison and the Sisters and Allison decided not to continue the contract upon its expiration. Prior to termination of the contract, Allison died in August 1928 at age 53.
The Sisters bought the hospital in 1929 and changed its name to St. Francis. The hospital continued to operate until it was sold to a developer in 1992.