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First Orphanage in Los Angeles

1860 student watercolor of Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul orphanage and school - first in Los Angeles. Courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library.

The first orphanage in Los Angeles was established in 1856 by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul at the corner of Alameda and Macy, where Union Station now stands. The hospital that grew out of the orphanage was the first in Los Angeles as well (see First Hospital in Los Angeles), officially opening in 1858 in the Aguilar Adobe on Upper Main Street. St. Vincent Medical Center has a museum and archive at Third and Alvarado in Los Angeles.

Source: Brett Arena, Archivist, St. Vincent Medical Center Historical Conservancy