Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia: architect and history

Pennsylvania Hospital was founded on May 11, 1751, by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Bond as an institution 'for the reception and cure of the sick poor, free of charge' — the second public hospital in the United States. Franklin secured a matching grant from the Pennsylvania House to fund it, later writing that none of his political maneuvers gave him more pleasure than that one's success. The hospital held the country's first surgical amphitheater and first medical library, and its main building, dating to 1756, is a National Historic Landmark.

the building

A matching grant from the Assembly. Franklin secured a funding structure new to Pennsylvania: a bill guaranteeing a government match for whatever the public donated, passed unanimously by the House on February 7, 1750, to get the hospital built.

First surgical amphitheater. Pennsylvania Hospital held the nation's first surgical amphitheater and first medical library, marking it as a teaching hospital from its earliest days at what is now 800 Spruce Street.

significance

The hospital's 1756 main building is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

nearby

J. Peter Lesley House 0.1 mi · Greek Revival
Portico Row 0.2 mi · Greek Revival
Wilson Eyre House 0.2 mi
Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church 0.2 mi · Romanesque Revival · 1890
William Strickland Row 0.2 mi · Greek Revival
Congregation B'nai Abraham 0.3 mi · Byzantine · 1910

All 127 buildings in Philadelphia