Local History: Local History Stories

And now for something new

New buildings - for an existing organization, business, or church they are an opportunity to attract new members or customers and generate new excitement among current members and customers.  This month we look briefly at the stories of two new buildings.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church traces its roots to the early 1950s when the priest at St. Francis Catholic Church wanted to start a new church for people living in the area around the Circle.  To this end, four acres of land on Bagby near 26th street were bought in 1953.  Construction of the new church began in early 1957 and on June 30, 1957, 65 years ago this month, members and guests joined together to dedicate the new Sacred Heart Catholic Church at 2621 Bagby.  But wait, there’s more.

By the early 1980s, the church had grown to the point that talk began of building a new, larger sanctuary.  In 1986, the church started a building fund.  Donations, fundraising projects, and sales of tamales (lots of them) raised more than $1 million for the new building.  On Saturday, June 27, 1992, 30 years ago this month and, at the time, 35 years after the previous sanctuary was dedicated, members and guests once again gathered to dedicate a new sanctuary.

While Sacred Heart members were raising money for their new facility, a major change in Waco’s health care scene was also occurring in the 1980s.  Providence Hospital, established in 1904 as Providence Sanitarium operated by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, had been providing health care for local residents at its facility between 17th and 18th streets on Colcord (originally called Vermont Street).  In the early 1970s, the hospital constructed a new, modern building on the same site.  Then in August 1985, hospital officials announced that the facility was considering moving to a site on Highway 6 next to DePaul Center psychiatric hospital, itself operated by Providence.  More than a year later, on Wednesday, October 1, 1986, hospital president Kent Keahey confirmed that a new hospital would be built on Highway 6.

On Friday, June 26, 1987, officials broke ground on the new hospital near Highway 6 and Sanger next to the post office that opened in early 1984.  After nearly two years of construction, hospital officials and others dedicated the new Providence Health Center at 6901 Medical Parkway on Sunday, April 9, 1989.  Over the next week the hospital moved equipment and patients to the new facility.  On Monday the 17th the hospital opened for its first full day of operation, thus completing a project that began with the turning of dirt 35 years ago this month.

References and further reading

Bulmahn, Lynn.  “Providence eyes new site”.  Waco Tribune-Herald, 29 Aug 1985, p. 1A

Bulmahn, Lynn.  “Providence plans to relocate”.  Waco Tribune-Herald, 2 Oct 1986, p. 1A

Bulmahn, Lynn.  “New era begins for Providence”.  Waco Tribune-Herald, 16 Apr 1989,

            p. 1A

“New church is dedicated on Sunday”.  Waco News-Tribune, 1 Jul 1957, p. 1

“Permanent church site bought for Sacred Heart”.  Waco Tribune-Herald, 28 Apr 1963,

            p. 8E

“Providence Health Center”.  Vertical file.

Ryan, Terri Jo.  “Sacred Heat turns 50”.  Waco Tribune-Herald, 23 Jun 2007, p. 8A

“Sacred Heart Catholic Church”.  Vertical file.

Watthuber, Kristie.  “It’s the church that faith and tamales built”.  Waco Tribune-Herald,

            28 Jun 1992, p. 1C

Articles about Providence

Articles about Sacred Heart