Pennsylvania Hospital
| Type | Teaching hospital |
|---|---|
| Address | 800 Spruce Street |
| Map | View on Google Maps |
| Neighborhood | Washington Square West |
| Phone | (215) 829-3000 |
| Website | Official site |
| Established | 1751 |
| Founder | Benjamin Franklin, Dr. Thomas Bond |
| Owner | Penn Medicine |
| Hours | Historic Tours: Mon-Fri 9 AM - 4 PM |
| Products | Medical care, historic tours |
| Status | Active |
Pennsylvania Hospital is America's oldest hospital. Located at 800 Spruce Street in Washington Square West, Philadelphia, it was founded on May 11, 1751, by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond. It was the first hospital chartered in the American colonies and introduced medical advances that changed American healthcare forever. The original Pine Building, built in 1756, is a National Historic Landmark. Inside it you'll find the nation's first surgical amphitheater (1804), the first hospital medical library, and the first hospital apothecary.[1]
Today it operates as a 515-bed teaching hospital within the University of Pennsylvania Health System, or Penn Medicine. The hospital still delivers modern medical care while inviting visitors to explore its historic Pine Building through free guided tours, experiencing where American hospital medicine began.
History
Founding
On May 11, 1751, the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly passed legislation chartering Pennsylvania Hospital. The hospital grew out of an earlier proposal. Dr. Thomas Bond, a Philadelphia physician who'd studied in London and Paris, had the vision to build a hospital serving the city's poor sick.
Bond knew what he needed: support and money. He reached out to Benjamin Franklin, an old friend who could deliver both. Franklin's involvement changed everything.
He didn't just champion the cause. Franklin invented something new: the first matching grant in American history. It was elegant in its simplicity, and it worked.
Founders
Dr. Thomas Bond (1712-1784) and Benjamin Franklin created Pennsylvania Hospital together.
Dr. Thomas Bond
Born in Maryland, Bond earned his medical credentials in London and Paris, then opened a practice in Philadelphia. England's voluntary hospitals inspired him. He wanted the same thing here in the colonies. Raising the money proved harder than expected, so he turned to Franklin.
Franklin was a strategist as much as a fundraiser. Here's what he proposed to the Pennsylvania Assembly: if private citizens could raise £2,000, the government would match it. Legislators thought he was mad. Nobody would ever raise that much. Franklin did it anyway, forcing the Assembly to keep its word and inventing a whole new way to fund public institutions.[2]
He served on the original Board of Managers, as first secretary, and later as second president. For the hospital seal, he chose the story of the Good Samaritan. It meant something. This place would care for the poor sick "free of charge."
America's First Hospital
Pennsylvania Hospital was the first chartered hospital in America and remains the oldest. Earlier institutions existed, but they weren't hospitals in the way we understand the word. Pennsylvania Hospital received the first hospital charter in the colonies. That made it different:
- 1729 - Philadelphia General Hospital (an almshouse) opened but functioned mainly as a poorhouse
- 1736 - Bellevue Hospital in New York started as a six-bed infirmary
- 1751 - Pennsylvania Hospital got the first hospital charter in the American colonies
Pennsylvania Hospital was purpose-built and chartered specifically for medical care. Everything else came after. This was the first true American hospital.
Early Development
The hospital opened temporarily on Market Street in 1752. Its first patient arrived that same year. A permanent building came next. Construction started in 1755 under Samuel Rhoads, a master builder from the Carpenters' Company who drew inspiration from the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh.
The East Wing finished in 1756. The West Wing followed in 1797. Finally, the Center Building was completed in 1804. These three sections became the Pine Building, one of the finest examples of 18th-century American colonial architecture.
The Pine Building
The Pine Building is Pennsylvania Hospital's original structure, constructed in three phases between 1756 and 1804. Samuel Rhoads designed it, and the pine wood used in its original construction gave it its name. This is Georgian colonial architecture at its finest.[3]
Several nationally important medical firsts happened inside the Pine Building:
Nation's First Surgical Amphitheater (1804)
Picture this: a circular room with tiered seating rising up from a central operating space. Medical students sat above, watching surgeries below. Sunlight streamed through a skylight, illuminating the work. This design influenced surgical theaters across America. Teaching students through observation became the standard.
First Hospital Medical Library (1762)
Dr. John Fothergill sent medical texts from London. That donation created America's first hospital library. Rare volumes still sit on these shelves. Researchers still use them today.
First Hospital Apothecary
The colonies' first hospital pharmacy operated here. Medicines were made and dispensed under one roof.
In 2012, a major restoration wrapped up. Now the Pine Building houses medical offices, research facilities, conference rooms, and serves as the base for historic tours.
Benjamin Rush
Dr. Benjamin Rush (1745-1813) was many things: a physician, a Founding Father, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He worked at Pennsylvania Hospital from 1783 until his death in 1813. History knows him as the "Father of American Psychiatry" because he transformed how we treat mental illness.[4]
Rush's Background
Rush graduated from the College of New Jersey, now Princeton. He earned his medical degree from the University of Edinburgh, then studied in London and Paris. By 1769 he was back in Philadelphia, running a practice and teaching at the College of Philadelphia, which became the University of Pennsylvania.
Contributions to Psychiatry
When Rush arrived at Pennsylvania Hospital, mentally ill patients were locked in the basement. Conditions were awful. He changed everything. His reforms included:
- Treating mental illness as a medical problem, not evil spirits
- Creating better living spaces for psychiatric patients
- Teaching occupational therapy as treatment
- Writing "Medical Inquiries and Observations upon the Diseases of the Mind" (1812), America's first psychiatry textbook
These weren't small steps. They were revolutionary.
Other Achievements
Rush did far more than psychiatry. He signed the Declaration of Independence. He served as Surgeon General of the Continental Army. He founded Dickinson College. He fought slavery. He pushed for public education and women's education. His portrait still appears on the seal of the American Psychiatric Association.
The Physic Garden
In front of the Pine Building's West Wing sits the Physic Garden. It's a medicinal herb garden. Plants growing here were used in 18th-century medicine, grown by physicians to make their own remedies.
History
The Board of Managers first proposed it in 1774. Money was tight. The Revolutionary War made it worse. Two centuries passed. Nothing happened.
Then came 1976 and America's bicentennial. The Philadelphia Committee of the Garden Club of America and the Friends of Pennsylvania Hospital finally made it real. They planted historically accurate medicinal plants.
What Grows in the Garden
The Physic Garden includes plants once used to:
- Strengthen the heart (foxglove/digitalis)
- Stop toothaches
- Aid digestion
- Clean wounds
- Treat 18th-century illnesses
Signs explain what each plant did. You can see the garden during self-guided tours.
Historic Tours
Pennsylvania Hospital welcomes visitors. Tours are free.
Guided Tours
Schedule: Monday through Friday at 10:00 AM or 1:00 PM Duration: About one hour Cost: Free Reservations: Required, call (215) 829-3370
Guided tours show you:
- The historic medical library
- The nation's first surgical amphitheater
- Benjamin West's painting "Christ Healing the Sick in the Temple" (1817)
- Portraits by Thomas Sully, Thomas Eakins, and other American artists
- Historical medical artifacts
Self-Guided Tours
Hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Cost: Free Registration: Not needed
You can explore on your own:
- The Physic Garden
- The historic Pine Building lobby
- Portrait gallery
- Interpretive displays
Keep in mind: some areas like the surgical amphitheater and medical library might be closed during self-guided visits.
Location
Pennsylvania Hospital sits at 800 Spruce Street in Washington Square West, Center City, between 8th and 9th Streets.
Address: 800 Spruce Street Philadelphia, PA 19107
Getting There:
- SEPTA Market-Frankford Line (The L): 8th Street Station (3 blocks north)
- SEPTA Broad Street Line (The B): Walnut-Locust Station (3 blocks west)
- SEPTA Bus Routes: 40, 42, 47 serve nearby streets
- Walking: 10-minute walk from Independence Hall
You're in one of Philadelphia's most historic neighborhoods. Washington Square, the Walnut Street Theatre, and colonial-era sites are all nearby.
Current Operations
Pennsylvania Hospital is a working 515-bed acute care teaching hospital. Despite honoring its past, it offers modern medical services:
- Emergency medicine
- Surgery (including cardiothoracic and orthopedic)
- Obstetrics and gynecology (one of the region's busiest birthing centers)
- Internal medicine
- Psychiatry
- Rehabilitation medicine
- Specialty care services
It's part of Penn Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania Health System, and it still follows Franklin and Bond's original mission: care for all patients, no matter what they can pay.
Historical Significance
Pennsylvania Hospital changed American medicine. Look at what it started:
| Year | Achievement |
|---|---|
| 1751 | First chartered hospital in America |
| 1752 | First patient admitted |
| 1756 | Pine Building East Wing completed; Dr. Thomas Bond performs first lithotomy (stone extraction) in the colonies |
| 1762 | First hospital medical library established |
| 1783 | Benjamin Rush joins staff, begins psychiatric reforms |
| 1804 | First surgical amphitheater opens; first hospital apothecary established |
| 1812 | First American psychiatry textbook published (by Rush) |
| 1817 | Benjamin West's masterpiece installed |
Franklin's matching-grant idea spread worldwide. It became how philanthropic funding works today.
Historic Art Collection
The hospital's art collection matters. It's an important part of American art history:
Christ Healing the Sick in the Temple (1817)
Benjamin West painted this specifically for the hospital. It's huge, 13 by 17 feet. The work shows Christ healing the sick, reflecting what the hospital was built to do. Compassionate care.
Portrait Collection
Thomas Sully, Thomas Eakins, and other major American artists created portraits here. They captured physicians, benefactors, and board members who shaped the hospital.
Visit during historic tours to see these works.
See Also
- Benjamin Franklin
- University of Pennsylvania
- Penn Medicine
- Washington Square West
- Healthcare in Philadelphia
References
- ↑ "Pennsylvania Hospital". Penn Medicine. Retrieved December 22, 2025
- ↑ "Franklin's Philadelphia: The Pennsylvania Hospital". ushistory.org. Retrieved December 22, 2025
- ↑ "Pennsylvania Hospital". Mütter Museum. Retrieved December 22, 2025