The history of Pennsylvania Hospital’s Pine Building
The original structure of the nation’s first chartered hospital—home to early mental health and maternity care—is a living symbol of innovation.
3 min. read
For nearly three centuries, Pennsylvania Hospital has been at the forefront of innovation.
At the time of the hospital’s founding in 1751, the mere idea of having a designated place to take care of people in the colonies was groundbreaking. And it has continued to innovate based on the needs of its community, expanding into a large network of clinical and research facilities, providing cancer care, outpatient practices, specialty treatment centers, and more
It’s this expansion that Pennsylvania Hospital co-founder Benjamin Franklin would be proud of. After all, he said, “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.”
In 2026, as the United States celebrates its semiquincentennial, Pennsylvania Hospital is marking its own milestone birthday with immersive experiences in a newly opened public museum in its original historic Pine Building. Nestled in a modern healthcare campus, this unwavering Philadelphia fixture continues to serve as a reminder of its celebrated 275 years of history—and counting—every day.
(Top) The south entrance to the Pennsylvania hospital; (bottom left) a portrait of Thomas Bond; (bottom right) a bust of Benjamin Franklin.
It started with a conversation with Benjamin Franklin, as many great Philadelphia sites do.
Prior to opening a private practice in the city, Thomas Bond trained to be a physician in Europe, where he encountered the voluntary hospital movement. It was a new way of taking care of people who were both poor and sick.
In the early 18th century, the colonies had Almshouses, shelters that offered clothing, food, and care for those experiencing poverty or illness in exchange for labor. Many relied on family medicinal “recipes,” like drinking hot broth or tea when feeling unwell. Seeing an actual physician required a paid house call. As Bond observed, a lot of people could not afford to hire one, leaving afflictions untended.
A hospital could provide people care in their communities, while also offering aspiring doctors a place to train.
The idea of building a hospital in Philadelphia garnered interest but no financial contributions, until Franklin, one of Bond’s friends and an influencer of his time, endorsed the project. “People inquired what Franklin thought of the idea. Bond didn’t think his friend had an interest in medicine,” says Stacey Peeples, lead archivist and curator of Pennsylvania Hospital’s archives. “As we know, everything was Franklin’s interest.” Serving as a hospital co-founder with Bond, Franklin made connections to get the funding.
Pennsylvania Hospital was chartered on May 11, 1751, with its home in a rented house on Market Street until land was purchased in 1755. On a half block of 8th and Pine Street, once considered a rural region, the Pine Building opened its doors in 1756. The first of three sections—now referred to as the east wing—it provided men’s and women’s wards to address physical and mental health.
Physical ailments included fevers, wounds, and diseases like malaria.
Mental illnesses, however, were not understood in colonial America, explained Peeples. “What the physicians at the hospital did—treating the patients more humanely, giving them a safe place to reside, food, exercise—was revolutionary.”
With more funding and more patients, the Pine Building gained its first addition in 1796 with the construction of its west wing, a designated mental health facility. In 1804, a center structure—for administrative purposes—joined the two wings, completing the building.
When the Schuylkill swallowed the city: Lessons from Hurricane Ida’s historic flood
New Penn research shows that Hurricane Ida wasn’t a once-in-a-century anomaly but a preview of how climate change, urbanization, and aging infrastructure are rewriting flood risk.
The Fed explained: What it does and why it matters
Former Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker and financial historian Peter Conti-Brown, both Wharton professors, unpack the central bank’s origins, its unusual structure, and the quiet ways it shapes the economy
How population changes are impacting primary education worldwide
Research from Penn sociologist Emily Hannum and colleagues reveals regional trends in whether school-age populations are increasing, plateauing, or decreasing—and shows how different countries are responding.
A bioengineered bean gum from the lab of Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell is found to reduce the levels of three microbes associated with head and neck squamous cell cancer to almost zero, without affecting the beneficial bacteria normally found in the mouth.
Fighting oral cancer with bioengineered chewing gum
Research led by Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell shows that antiviral and antibacterial chewing gums reduce the levels of three microbes linked to worse outcomes in oral cancers, paving the way for more effective and affordable therapies.
