It was designed by noted American architect Bertrand Goldberg, best known for the Marina City complex in Chicago.

Their resignation came during a period of high anti-Catholic sentiment in the city, provoked by the local Know Nothing political movement.

The Sisters decided to move the hospital to a 250-acre (100 ha) site on the western boundary of the city.

By this time Goldberg had completed a number of other healthcare facilities and had refined his innovative "bed-cluster pod."

Construction on the reinforced concrete high-rise structure began in 1982 and accepted its first patients on July 15, 1987.