Established in 1947 by the Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile for the black community, this hospital arose because segregation prevented black doctors from admitting patients to the City Hospital. The present building was erected in 1950 and named for St. Martin de Porres, who was born in 1597 in Lima, Peru, the son of a Spanish nobleman and a freed black slave. He cared for the sick, and many cures were attributed to him. With desegregation in 1971, the hospital closed. In 1976, it became a nursing facility, the Allen Memorial Home, named for Edward Allen, fifth Bishop of Mobile.