Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation’s oldest hospital, is marking its 275th anniversary by transforming a historic building into a public museum that showcases centuries of medical history.<\/p>\n
The Pine Building, where the hospital accepted its first patients in 1756, will now serve as a space for visitors to explore the institution’s origins.<\/p>\n
“You’re coming into the actual old hospital. We didn’t recreate the building. This is in fact the old historic structure,” said Stacey Peeples, the hospital’s lead archivist. The building continued serving patients until 1971.<\/p>\n
Peeples said the new museum will offer a deeper look at the hospital’s development and its role in major historical moments.<\/p>\n
The space features eight primary exhibits across three floors, including colonial-era artifacts and extensive medical papers. Exhibits will highlight the hospital’s involvement in events such as the American Revolution and the COVID19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
The museum also includes a surgical amphitheater and a library containing 13,000 volumes of medical journals.<\/p>\n
An old hospital log book will help visitors learn about people whose contributions might otherwise be forgotten.<\/p>\n
“What’s so interesting is in here. This is where we find women and people of color,” Peeples said. “This is where nurses and laundresses, and people who are coming in doing odd jobs for the hospital. They’re recorded in here because they’re all being paid.”<\/p>\n
The museum opens on May 8 at 9 a.m.<\/p>\n