The hospital was promoted by María Hernández, Duchess of Santoña and Marchioness of Manzanedo, who founded for this purpose the National Association for the Care and Support of Children, a society authorised by Royal Order in 1876. The building was designed by the architect Francisco Jareño y Alarcón, who planned a large, free-standing construction, formed of a central body, with a small temple, which joins together three pavilions perpendicular to the Menéndez Pelayo façade, where the rooms are located. This arrangement was to become a prototype for the hospitals and nursing homes built later in Madrid.

The building garnered a Gold Medal in the exhibitions of Antwerp (1886), Vienna (1887) and Barcelona (1888). Around 1890 it came under the umbrella of the Provincial Charity Board, which promoted its expansion in 1901, according to the plans drawn up by the architect Santiago Castellanos. The three new pavilions, intended to be a nursing home, were built parallel to the initial ones, in conjunction with a pavilion for its use as a lobby that articulates the gallery that serves as a link between both buildings. It has been part of the Insalud hospital network since 1986.