Skip to main content

National Home for Jewish Children in Denver (1928-1952)

 Organization

Biography

The National Asthma Center (NAC) existed under a series of names. It was The National Asthma Center (NAC) (1973-1978) had a series of names: the Denver Sheltering Home for Jewish Children (1907-1927), National Home for Jewish Children in Denver (1928-1952), Jewish National Home for Asthmatic Children in Denver (JNHAC) (1953-1956), and the Children's Asthma Research Institute and Hospital (CARIH) (1957-1972). NAC was an independent institution from 1907 until 1978, when it merged with National Jewish Hospital to form the National Jewish Hospital and Research Center/National Asthma Center. The NAC campus in west Denver at 19th and Julian Streets sold in 1981. During the last part of the nineteenth century, Denver, Colorado, became a haven for those suffering from tuberculosis, "the white plague." However, no formal medical treatment facilities existed until the opening of the National Jewish Hospital (NJH) in 1899. Five years later, the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society (JCRS) began treating patients with advanced cases of tuberculosis. A Denver housewife, Fannie Lorber, became concerned about the plight of Jewish children left homeless by a parent's hospitalization or orphaned by a parent's death at NJH or JCRS. In 1907, she and her friends Bessie Willens and Sadie Francis organized other local East European immigrant women and founded the Denver Sheltering Home. For the next 51 years, Fannie Lorber presided over the volunteer board of the Home and was the driving force behind fundraising efforts. At first, funded entirely by the Denver Jewish Community, the Home's expansion eventually led to a system of fundraising Ladies' Auxiliaries throughout the United States. The Home initially sheltered only orphaned or neglected children of tuberculosis victims, but it soon expanded its mission to help combat delinquency among Denver's Jewish children. An arrangement was made with Judge Ben B. Lindsey to send first offenders to the Home rather than to a detention center. (Judge Lindsey created the Colorado Juvenile Court system.) The Home also began taking in orphaned and needy children from other cities, and by 1920, approximately 100 children were living on the expanded campus. The Home's founders aimed to provide a cultured, stimulating, and Jewish environment for the children that was as close to family life as possible, unlike most orphanages of the period. In 1939 the Home instituted the long-term residential treatment of children with intractable asthma. In the 1950s, medical, psychiatric, and research personnel were added to treat children with asthma and allergies. In 1951, Dr. Allan Hurst became the first full-time medical director, and Jack Gershtenson became the administrator, a position he held for nearly thirty years. The Home officially became a non-sectarian in 1953. Dr. Murray Pershkin, chief consultant to the home from 1940 until 1959, advocated '"parentectomy,"' the removal of the child from his or her home for up to two years. In 1957, the Children's Asthma Research Institute and Hospital was created. At the time, it was the only research facility in the country dedicated to asthma and allergic diseases. In 1966, Drs. Kimishige and Taruko Ishizaka, a husband and wife research team at CARIH, discovered immunoglobin E, the physiological basis for asthma. In 1972, CARIH became the National Asthma Center. By the 1970s, National Jewish Hospital had gone from treating tuberculosis to treating a broader range of respiratory diseases, including asthma. It was decided in 1978 that a merger of the two institutions would be beneficial. Patients remained at the NAC campus until 1981, when it was closed. Fannie Lorber was president from 1907 to 1958, Arthur Lorber was president from 1958 to 1975, and Charles M. Schayer was president from 1975 to 1978.

Found in 55 Collections and/or Records:

Picnic at the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, 1931

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00089
Abstract

A group of children sit on an outside deck at the National Home for Jewish Children. Each child has a plate of food and an unidentified woman serves them. Most of the children are unidentified, however, Bertha Katzson, Doris Greenstein and Reuben Levine are part of the group. The children are in the care of the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver in Denver, Colorado. Later, the home became part of the National Jewish Hospital.

Dates: 1931

Refugee Child at the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, circa 1939

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00092
Abstract

An unidentified refugee child stands in her crib at the National home for Jewish Children in Denver Colorado.

Dates: circa 1939

Refugee Child at the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, circa 1939

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00093
Abstract

An unidentified refugee child sits in her crib with a doll at the National home for Jewish Children in Denver Colorado. The child was born in Milan, Italy to German parents and brought to American in 1930 by her father. Her mother committed suicide on the boat before they reached America. Her father brought her to the National Home for Jewish Children when he was admitted to a sanatorium in Denver.

Dates: circa 1939

Residents of the National Home for Jewish Children in Sunday School Class, 1942 June

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00074
Abstract

Teacher Abe Kirschstein stands behind Sunday School students seated at desks at the National Home for Jewish Children in Denver located in Denver, Colorado. From 1928-1952, the home was called the National Home for Jewish Children in Denver.

Dates: 1942 June

Senator Gary Hart at the National Asthma Center, 1977 February 14

 Item
Identifier: B089.12.0020.0012.00001
Abstract Colorado Senator Gary Hart stands at a press conference at the National Asthma Center. The National Asthma Center's history began in 1907 as the Denver Sheltering Home for Jewish Children, which was a refuge for lower-income children whose parents were being treated for tuberculosis, or had passed away from tuberculosis. In 1928 the institution changed names to the National Home for Jewish Children in Denver. In 1953, the name changed to the Jewish National Home for Asthmatic Children at...
Dates: 1977 February 14

Sets of Twins at the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, between 1930-1935

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00087
Abstract

Three sets of twins seated on a lawn. In the front row are Joey and Esther Karsh, center are Rose and Violet Waterman and flanking the Watermans are Eddie and Sammy Friedman (from left to right). The children were in the care of the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, which later became part of the National Jewish Hospital.

Dates: between 1930-1935

Sewing Class at the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, between 1928-1940

 Item
Identifier: B089.12.0020.0027.00008
Abstract

A group of girls learn to sew during a class at the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver. The National Home for Jewish Children at Denver's history began in 1907 as the Denver Sheltering Home for Jewish Children, which was a refuge for lower-income children whose parents were being treated for tuberculosis, or had passed away from tuberculosis. In 1928 the institution changed names to the National Home for Jewish Children in Denver.

Dates: between 1928-1940

Snacks in the Nursery at the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, between 1930-1940

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00088
Abstract

A group of children seated at a table in the Nursery at the National Home for Jewish Children. Each child has a graham cracker and cup of milk. The child seated third from the left in the back row is Morris Susan. The children were in the care of the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, which later became part of the National Jewish Hospital.

Dates: between 1930-1940

Steve McCree Jumping Over an Object at the National Asthma Center, between 1973-1985

 Item
Identifier: B089.12.0020.0006.00004
Abstract Steve McCree jumps over an unidentified object at the National Asthma Center. The National Asthma Center's history began in 1907 as the Denver Sheltering Home for Jewish Children, which was a refuge for lower-income children whose parents were being treated for tuberculosis, or had passed away from tuberculosis. In 1928 the institution changed names to the National Home for Jewish Children in Denver. In 1953, the name changed to the Jewish National Home for Asthmatic Children at Denver and...
Dates: between 1973-1985

Story Hour at the National Home for Jewish Children in Denver, 1931

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00068
Abstract

An unidentified woman reads a story to a group of children in the nursery at the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, which later became part of the National Jewish Hospital.

Dates: 1931

Filtered By

  • Subject: Photographs X

Additional filters:

Subject
Group homes for children 53
Children 45
Asthmatics 36
Denver (Colo.) 35
Jewish children 34