The hospital was founded by George G. Eitel in 1912 and served wealthy citizens of Minneapolis.[2] The Minneapolis Journal first announced plans in 1906, and published drawings for a four-story hospital in 1907. Fund raising caused construction delays. In January 1911, the paper published renderings by Long, Lamoreaux & Long for a five-story hospital, and in June for eight stories. It was finally built as five stories on a basement.[1]
It featured sun porches with Navajo rugs and private rooms with brass beds and mahogany furniture. His wife Jeannette Eitel, a nurse, directed the nursing school.[3] The Eitels lived in an apartment accessible from 14th Street. Eitel's nephew, George D. Eitel, ran the hospital after his uncle's death.[1]
In 1982, it began a formal alliance with Abbott Northwestern Hospital, and in 1985, the 144-bed hospital closed. The building later became the Willow Street Center for Youth and Families.[4]
In 2005, Village Green Companies submitted a proposal for renovating the former Eitel Hospital building into apartments, along with two additional six-story buildings on the block. The proposal included an adaptive reuse renovation of the 1911 building, along with rebuilding the cornice in a design similar to the original cornice. Later additions to the building were proposed for demolition.[5] Ground was broken on the complex on October 25, 2006 and Eitel Building City Apartments was completed in September 2008.[6]