America's First Hospital Gets Repairs
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Oct. 30, 2008
The country's oldest hospital, founded in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin and surgeon Thomas Bond, is still going strong. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Hospital is giving its grandest structure a facelift this fall.
The Colonial and Federal-style Pine Building, designed by Samuel Rhoads, was built in three sections between 1755 and 1804. Still used as hospital offices, the three-story building is a National Historic Landmark.
"It's one of those buildings where you walk in and you feel a little better," says Alvin Holm, architect and chair of the Save the Pine Building advisory board. "It's a noble building because it was for ordinary people, to make them well. What kind of a culture was it that would erect such a distinctive building for this purpose? We're not that way anymore."
This month, workers are repairing and replacing disintegrating cornices, windows, and other woodwork on the exterior of the three-story structure. The next task is to replace its slate roof. "The building was in trouble," says Jim Kelley, the hospital's director of engineering. "We had a lot of decaying wood and peeling paint."
So far, Pennsylvania Hospital has raised $1.4 million for the first phase of the project; it hopes to raise another $1.8 million. Two years ago, Save America's Treasures, a public-private partnership between the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Park Service, gave a matching grant of $350,000 toward the Pine Building restoration.
"The Pine Building is a symbol of the past and future of medicine, one that we take great pride in as a hospital and a health system," says Kate Kinslow, the hospital's executive director, who works in the building. "This restoration is essential to preserving the medical history and architectural integrity of the Pine Building for years to come."
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Comments
Submitted by urbanpros at: November 12, 2008
When I moved to Philadelphia from Texas 5 years ago – to a place just blocks from Pennsylvania Hospital – I passed by this beautiful place every day. I STILL get a chill every time I go by...when the azaleas are blooming or the trees are a golden blaze. Congrats and kudos to Pennsy for their work here. Too many hospitals are terrible stewards of history ... and bad neighbors, too!
Submitted by GeWaMa at: October 30, 2008
I wish that there were links to sites featuring these gems so that we could see more pictures, get more history, information, etc.