Pennsylvania Hospital, the Pine Building

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Visit our “Tour Destination: Philadelphia” page to see the entire walking tour of the first Philadelphia cluster of Save America’s Treasures sites.

Pennsylvania Hospital, the Pine Building.

Pennsylvania Hospital, the Pine Building

Pine Street, between 8th and 9th
Philadelphia, PA

Website:  History of Pennsylvania Hospital

The Treasure:  The Pennsylvania Hospital is the nation’s first hospital and a designated National Historic Landmark.  Founded by Dr. Thomas Bond and Benjamin Franklin, the hospital was chartered in 1751 by the colonial government as the first institution in America organized exclusively for the treatment and care of the sick poor and mentally ill. The Pennsylvania Hospital became a primary force in shaping the attitude of colonial Americans toward persons with emotional and psychological disorders, as well as advancing the practice of clinical medicine through Dr. Bond’s lectures to medical students at the hospital. 

Accessibility:  Visitors may enjoy a tour of the Center Building, the third and final section that completes the Pine Building.  For guided or self-guided tours of the Historic Pine Building, please visit their Historic Tours page.

For a leisurely tour at home, click here for a virtual tour of the Pine Building.

Pennsylvania Hospital.

Notes:  The Pine Building, the oldest building of the hospital campus, was completed in three sections, the East Wing, the West Wing, and the Center Wing.  The East Wing was built in 1755, and the West Wing was constructed in 1796 to separate the mentally ill from the physically ill patients.  The Center Wing joined the two buildings in 1804.  The Hospital continues to use these original buildings for administrative offices, the Archives, and as the core of our historic tours. 

The Medical Library at Pennsylvania Hospital was established in 1762 when Dr. William Shippen, Jr. presented a book, anatomical drawings, and three anatomical plaster casts from Dr. John Fothergill, a London physician and a friend of Franklin and Bond.  The library is the first and oldest library of its kind in the country, and in 1847 the American Medical Association designated it as the first, largest, and most important medical library in the United States.  Today the library houses approximately 13,000 volumes, many of which are found in only a handful of other institutions in the world.  Acquired books focus on anatomy, botany, obstetrics and mental illness, and the holdings include such classics as the works of Vesalius, Linnaeus, and Catesby’s Natural History of Carolina.  The Hospital’s collection of fine art includes paintings, portraits, engravings, and sculpture of key subjects in the Hospital’s history.  There are several works by important artists, such as Thomas Sully, Benjamin West, and Thomas Eakins.  Hospital staff, patients, the general public, historians, and students of art appreciate these works on a daily basis.

The Archives, housed in the East Wing of the Pine Building, provide a record that reflects the development of healthcare and medical education from the 18^th to the 20^th century.  Open to the public via appointment, the Archives attracts scholars interested in the history of hospital development, health care, medicine, nursing, society, culture, nationality and race, and architecture.  The archival records are comprised of organizational records (many in Benjamin Franklin’s personal hand as President and Clerk of the hospital), personal papers of nurses, physicians (including Benjamin Rush and Phillip Syng Physick), photographs, artifacts, engravings, and scrapbooks, as well as the records of affiliates absorbed by Pennsylvania Hospital and the Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital.  The surgical amphitheatre, located in the Center Building and in use from 1804-1868, helped to inaugurate American clinical teaching by bringing the patient into the lecture room with the students. Dr. Benjamin Coates initiated the practice of demonstrating with patients in 1834.  Distinguished physicians who have used the amphitheatre over the years include: Dr. Phillip Syng Physick, Dr. George W. Norris, Dr. Joseph Pancoast, Dr. D. Hayes Agnew, and Dr. Thomas G. Morton.

18th century over-sized anatomical
drawing from the Medical Library
at Pennsylvania Hospital.

Notes from the Editor:  Pennsylvania Hospital’s surgical amphitheatre, mentioned above, is one of Philadelphia’s great architectural spaces.  The space is haunted by history in an almost uncanny way.

At the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, I’ve been lucky to see numerous great items come from Pennsylvania Hospital for treatment.  While it’s always great to see Benjamin Franklin signatures pass through, the real treat for me has been the books and prints from the early days of medical illustration—tantalizingly graphic and always beautifully executed.

Other Recommended Sites:  For those who enjoy touring the Pennsylvania Hospital, other sites to visit include: the Philip Syng Physick House and the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and its famous Mütter Museum.

The historic surgical amphitheatre at Pennsylvania Hospital.

Tour America's History Itinerary
Monday’s destination: The Library Company of Philadelphia
Tuesday’s destination: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Wednesday’s destination: The Academy of Music


© 2011 Lee Price