Pennsylvania Hospital

Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia (800 Spruce Street), is the oldest hospital of the United States. It was founded by Thomas Bond and Benjamin Franklin on May 11, 1751. It “was also the first place in the country to treat psychological and emotional disorders as curable conditions. It gave America its first apothecary, its first medical library and its first surgical amphiteatre“¹.

Its historical Pine Building (completed, in its three wings, between 1755 and 1804².) is still preserved with a statue of William Penn in the garden in front of it.

• Photos by Luca Borghi @ (June 2017) and page layout by Jessica Casaccia @ (September 2021)

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Related items:

• “Christ healing the sick in the temple”, by Benjamin West
• Florence Nightingale’s pledge plaque
• Historical library
• James Hutchinson’s portrait
• The “Dreaded Circular Room”

Bibliography

– Kristen A. Graham, A History of the Pennsylvania Hospital, The History Press, Charleston-London 2008, pp. 128