THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL PINE BUILDING IN PHILADELPHIA

The nation’s first hospital was founded by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond in 1751, for “relief of the sick poor” of Philadelphia. The modern hospital offers guided tours which allow you to see the country’s oldest existing operating theater where patients were “sedated” with alcohol, laudanum or a hit to the head. The surgical amphitheater is on the top floor of the Pine Building, one of the finest examples of Colonial and Federal period architecture, in continuous use since 1755. Art on display in the historic building includes Benjamin West’s 1817 “Christ Healing the Sick in the Temple” and works by Thomas Eakins and Thomas Sully.

William Penn Statue
In the center of the front lawn is a statue of William Penn. John Penn, William's grandson, found it in an antique shop in London and presented to the Hospital 1804. In 1751 the Hospital managers purchased half of the block that bordered Spruce and Pine Streets between 8th and 9th Streets. Several years later, the John Penn and his family donated the other half, a little less than 1 acre, to give the Hospital the full block. Legend has it that William Penn's ghost leaves the statue and walks the grounds of the Hospital at night.

PHILADELPHIAPINE BUILDINGPENNSYLVANIA HOSPITALHISTORIC BUILDINGBENJAMIN FRANKLINWILLIAM PENNJOHN PENN