The Indiana Historical Society is collecting documents from Hoosiers ahead of an exhibit and online archive for Indianapolis' bicentennial. Indianapolis Star

With the city celebrating 200 years, the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis assigned profiles of civic leaders, including the late Dr. Frank Lloyd. I recalled him as a prominent doctor, medical researcher and the first African-American president of Methodist Hospital.

He was all that, but also as a quiet and effective civic leader. He joined with a handful of others who transformed Indy from minor- to major-league status.

Born in South Carolina in 1919, Dr. Lloyd graduated from Howard University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. He served as a Rockefeller Fellow at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, teaching at Columbia University.

Paying respects: Indy's black history makers

Coming to Indianapolis, he established his medical practice, delivering babies and doing research in gynecology and obstetrics.

Dr. Lloyd became one of the first African-American doctors on staff at Methodist Hospital in 1954. He launched a new era as director of medical research in 1963, laying the groundwork for Methodist to become a teaching/research facility in addition to patient care.

In 1981, Dr. Lloyd became the first African-American president of the hospital. Leading the hospital through a major expansion, he hoped Methodist could become an Indiana version of the famous Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

Photo of Dr. Frank Lloyd, president of Methodist Hospital, 1992(Photo: Rich Miller, Indianapolis Star)

The hospital pioneered the states first adult open-heart surgery in 1965, then the use of an artificial kidney in 1966, and kidney transplants in 1972.

He also taught at medical schools as a visiting professor. In his spare time he joined other civic entrepreneurs who put Indianapolis on the national map beyond the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race and high school basketball.

He was a great physician, said a subsequent Methodist Hospital president, Sam Odle. But he also understood the bigger context of the community the need for African-Americans to have access to information, financial capital and quality education. He was a quiet, reflective man. He didnt wear his smarts on his sleeve.

He was the first chairman of the White River State Park Development Commission, paving the way for the downtown park as an anchor for urban renewal. He also served as co-chair of the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee, the key organization for the citys revitalization in that era.

He was the key founder of the Midwest National Bank, expanding lending opportunities when traditional banks restricted lending to African-Americans.

He joined with other investors to start radio station WTLC-FM, offering a new African-American perspective in the radio market. He served as president of the Metropolitan Planning Commission during the 1970s, as city fathers were laying the groundwork for the citys growth spurt in subsequent decades.

He also was one of the founding members of 100 Black Men, for mentoring young African-American men.

Sam Jones, then the president of the Indianapolis Urban League, summed him up this way on Lloyds death in 2002: He was a giant among men, not just African-American men, but a giant among men, period.

RussPulliam is associate editor of The Star. Follow him on Twitter at RBPulliam@twitter.com. Email him at Russell.Pulliam@indystar.com.

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Op-ed: Doctor, mentor to Black men, urban renewal champion. Frank Lloyd was that and more - IndyStar