Fodor's Expert Review Pennsylvania Hospital
Inside the fine 18th-century original buildings of the oldest hospital in the United States are the nation's first medical library and first surgical amphitheater (an 1804 innovation, with a skylight). The hospital also has a portrait gallery, early medical instruments, art objects, and a rare-book library with items dating from 1762. The artwork includes the Benjamin West painting Christ Healing the Sick in the Temple. Today Pennsylvania Hospital is a full-service modern medical center four blocks southwest of the Athenaeum. There are self-guided tours weekdays and guided tours if you call ahead for times and reservations. The suggested donation is $4 per person.