John Gaston Hospital, located on Madison Avenue, is pictured in November 1950. Jean Gaston was born in Aveyran, France, on Jan. 4, 1828. Born into poverty, Jean's first job was in his uncle's small restaurant in Paris. The job did nothing to lift him above poverty and eventually he went to work as a steward on a cruise line running from France to New York. During shore leave in New York Jean passed a restaurant and decided to apply for a job. The restaurant was the world-famous Delmonico's. Jean changed his name to John and apprenticed and learned the restaurant business from the inside. After a variety of jobs and adventures, Gaston settled in the South. Sometime in the late 1860s Gaston saved enough money to open a small restaurant in Memphis. He provided the best food at the best prices and quickly built up a thriving hotel and restaurant business. As he built up to a 100-room hotel with 40 servants, Gaston began to show a willingness to be good to those less fortunate. Aside from covert donations, in 1900 Gaston donated 6 acres for a city park. When Gaston died at the age of 84 he left his fortune to his second wife, Theresa. Upon her death the money was largely donated to the city for the formation of a city charity hospital. The city of Memphis added some federal funds to the bequest and built the six-story John Gaston Hospital. (The MED)
