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Pennsylvania Hospital has a long history of helping – 275 years of it to be exact.
The hospital was founded in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond – who intended to help others.
“When the hospital was started, it was to care for the sick, poor and the mentally ill who were in the area,” said Stacy Peeples, the curator and lead archivist at the Pennsylvania Hospital.
“That precedent of caring for people and being an advocate for the underserved is something that is very important not only to Pennsylvania Hospital and Penn Medicine, but I think really to Philadelphia as a location.”
And this wasn’t the only first for the building.
“Not only are we the first chartered hospital, but we also have the first medical resident, we have the first medical library, and we have the first surgical amphitheater,” Peeples said. “So all of those things sort of advanced medicine and medical knowledge over all of these years.”
The hospital is the focus of this week’s “Firstival,” part of a larger group of celebrations of Philadelphia “firsts” ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Derrick Ross was the artist behind this week’s firstival sculpture. He said he was inspired by the backstory of the hospital – and by his own favorite medical dramas.
“On one side [of the statue], I have the amphitheater,” he said. “I’m a big fan of Grey’s Anatomy, so I used to watch Dr. Shepherd in the amphitheater, and Meredith Grey watching him and her being taught how to be a doctor and a physician from the amphitheater. That really motivated me to do that on the side, as well as some medical tools that we still use to this day.”
Ross also added elements that corresponded with the hospital building – including the top of the Pine Building (where the Pennsylvania Hospital was initially stationed).
Patients were treated for mental illness and physical ailments in the hospital until 1971, when care was transferred to the larger, modern Pennsylvania Hospital building that is recognized today.
The historic Pine Building, where the original hospital was stationed, is now home to the Pennsylvania Hospital Museum.
Peeples said visitors to the museum will get a look into the first surgical amphitheater and the historic library, among other features.
“We are going to be in what was the old steward’s office,” she said. “We are also going to be in the old apothecary. So that room, which had been a conference room, is sort of being recreated back to its original beauty as an apothecary. And people will be able to come around to offices that have been used by managers and by the nursing staff early on.”
You can also find documents, archives and artifacts that represent the history of the hospital throughout the museum.
The museum is now open to the public on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, you can visit their website.
For a more detailed look into this Philly first, check out a preview of the Pennsylvania Hospital Museum.
And here is your full guide to all of this year’s firstivals – including where you can find this upcoming Saturday’s Firstival dates and location.
Completed
Week 1: Successful balloon flight in America (1793)
Week 2: The Mummers parade, the nation’s first folk parade (1901)
Week 3: Volunteer fire company (1736)
Week 4: Professional basketball league (1898)
Week 5: Public Girl Scout cookie sale (1932)
Week 6: African Methodist Episcopal congregation (1794)
Week 7: Abolitionist society in America (1775)
Week 8: Authentic Chinese gate built in America (1984)
Week 9: Public protest against slavery in America (1688)
Week 10: Flower Show (1829)
Week 11: Women’s medical college (1850)
Week 12: Matchbook (1892)
Week 13: Medical school (1765)
Week 14: Stadium (1895)
Week 15: Circus performance (1793)
Week 16: Botanical garden (1728)
Week 17: Postmaster (1737)
Week 18: American-made piano and sousaphone (1775 and 1893)
Week 19: Mother’s Day (1908)
Upcoming
• Hospital in America (1751)
May 16, Pennsylvania Hospital, 800 Spruce St.
• World’s Fair on American soil (1876)
May 23, Please Touch Museum, 4231 Avenue of the Republic
• Steamboat for passengers and freight (1787)
May 30, Independence Seaport Museum, 211 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd.
• American flag (1777)
June 6, Betsy Ross House, 239 Arch St.
• U.S. Army (1775)
June 13, Museum of the American Revolution, 101 S. 3rd St.
• Annual Reminder demonstration (1965)
June 20, Philly Pride Visitor Center, Lombard St. and S. 12th St.
• Paper maker in America (1690)
June 27, Rittenhouse Town, 6034 Wissahickon Ave.
• Bank of the United States (1791)
July 4, First Bank of the United States, 120 S. 3rd St.
• Organized baseball team (1831)
July 11 (location TBD)
• Ice cream soda (Oct. 1874)
July 18, Franklin Fountain, 116 Market St.
• American art school (1805)
July 25, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 118-128 N. Broad St.
• Scientific Society of Natural History (1812)
Aug. 1, at Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
• Zoo in America (1874)
Aug. 8, Philadelphia Zoo, 3400 W. Girard Ave.
• U.S. Mint (1793)
Aug. 15 (location TBD)
• Selfie (1839)
Aug. 22, Love Park, 1501 John F Kennedy Blvd.
• Slinky (1943)
Aug. 29, Philadelphia Art Museum, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
• Signing of the Constitution (1787)
Sept. 5, National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St.
• Continental Congress (1774)
Sept. 12 at Carpenters’ Hall, 320 Chestnut St.
• Naming of the United States (1776)
Sept. 19, Independence Hall
• Ronald McDonald House (1974)
Sept. 26, Ronald McDonald House, 3925 Chestnut St.
• Penitentiary in America (1829)
Oct. 3, Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Ave.
• The First Peoples
Oct. 10, Penn Museum, 3260 South St.
• U.S. Navy and Marine Corps (1775)
Oct. 17, Arch Street Meeting House, 320 Arch St.
• Public showing of a motion picture (1870)
Oct. 24, Philadelphia Film Society, 1412 Chestnut St.
• Modern detective story written (1841)
Oct. 31, Edgar Allan Poe House, 532 N. 7th St.
• Thanksgiving Day parade in America (1920)
Nov. 7, Benjamin Franklin Parkway
• University in America (1740)
Nov. 14, Houston Hall, The University of Pennsylvania, 3417 Spruce St.
• Children’s hospital in America (1855)
Nov. 21, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Main Building, 3401 Civic Center Blvd.
• Pencil with an attached eraser (1858)
Nov. 28, National Liberty Museum, 321 Chestnut St.
• Weather bureau (1870)
Dec. 5, The Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th St.
• Electronic computer (1945)
Dec. 12, The University of Pennsylvania, 3451 Walnut St.
• Public lending library in America (1731)
Dec. 19, The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust St.
• Philly food firsts: Cheesesteaks (1930s), water ice (1932) and bubble gum (1928)
Dec. 26, Reading Terminal Market, 1136 Arch St.
