Collectivité

Victoria Public Hospital (Fredericton, N.B)

Built in 1887

The Victoria Public Hospital was built in June 1887 as the Victoria Cottage Hospital through the efforts of Alice Tilley, wife of the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick. It was incorporated in 1898, and the original wooden structure served the medical needs of Fredericton until a new facility, the Frazer Memorial Hospital, was built near the original site in 1922. The stone-faced structure was designed with four floors, and had the capacity for two operating rooms, an X-ray room and a dietary kitchen.

By 1935, even this structure was not enough, and the old wooden hospital was demolished to accommodate the expansion of the Frazer building. An east, west and north wing were added, with capacity for 138 more patients. Further expansion in 1950 saw the addition of a self-contained laundry, power and storage facility. A 1960 renovation and expansion project, partly financed by the nearby community of Oromocto, New Brunswick saw 97 more beds added to the facility.

Local demands eventually exceeded the Frazer building's capacity, and led to the closure of the Victoria Hospital and its subsequent replacement by the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital, in 1976. Arthur M. Limerick (b. 1908) and Ralph Victor Limerick (b. 1910) were brothers and members of the family law firm. Ralph became a judge of the Supreme Court of the province. Both men served as trustees of the Victoria Hospital from 1954-1959.