St. Luke’s Boise Regional Medical Center was originally built in 1902 by Rt. Rev James B. Funsten, who was the Bishop of the Episcopal Church of Idaho. The original St. Luke’s Hospital was a cottage with six beds inside. Now St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center is now Idaho’s largest hospital treating about 325,000 per year. The hospital experienced a major remodel in 1928. After this there were not any major remodels during the thirties, but then in the late 1940s they began remodeling again and making more changes to the hospital. In 1947 St. Luke’s teamed up with St. Alphonsus. By 1952 the bed capacity of St. Luke’s had grown to over 250 beds for patients. Then during the 1960s there were not any important additions to the hospital, but then in the ’70s the changes began again. In 1970 it added two more floors with 59 addtional beds added into the East Wing of the hospital. After 1973 a new architect took over the plans for St. Lukes’ and CSHQA took over the progress of the building. By 1974 St. Luke’s had expanded more and added an additional 213 beds, 25 bassinets, and 10 newborn intensive care units.
St. Luke’s has an interesting type of architecture. It uses historic themes including architectural references to Art Deco however most of the hosptial would not be considered true Art Deco. Much of the hospital most visible from the main streets is newer and not historic. When first approaching the hospital the size and the windows draw the most attention. The windows are all similar and very symmetrically placed. Then the main entrance of the building has windows that have a very elaborate style. To the left of the main entrance there is a relaxing area with benches, a Healing Labyrinth and a variety of trees and flowers. The Healing Labyrinth is an ancient symbol of wholeness that has become a metaphor of life. Many believe that although everybody enters on the same path, each experience is different from another. It is believed that walking the labyrinth clears the mind, invites reflection and quiets worries. Then around the back side of the main wing of the hospital there are many angles. The inside of St. Luke’s is a welcoming atmosphere. They added waterfalls on both sides of the staircase to add imagery and to welcome patients and help calm them with the tricking of the water. Also the paintings on the wall try to distract patients and their friends and families of any tragedies that they might be facing in their lives.