Prepare for and publicly celebrate the upcoming 275th anniversary in 2026.
The Hospital’s 275th anniversary coincides with the Nation’s semiquincentennial (250th) anniversary. As with the Bicentennial celebrations, this is an opportune moment to build excitement and emphasize the Hospital’s uninterrupted legacy of service and its shared heritage with the Nation.
Planning for and implementing a conservation project that will deliver visual and experiential impact for visitors and Hospital stakeholders is a strategic and timely investment.
Initiate planning phase for archive and collection relocation.
Pine Building window restoration
Create an interactive website that builds on the collections, site, archives, and research generated by the CMP.
Collaborate on a partnered exhibition that features the Hospital as an integral Philadelphia institution with a global reach.
Collaborate on a partnered series of public events (speakers, tours, exhibition) that builds on the lead-up to the 250th anniversary of the nation.
Survey additional historic properties and landscapes in the Washington Square West neighborhood and integrate them into the overall evolutionary diagrams and plans.
Buildings and landscapes include, but are not limited to:
Ayer Building
Gate House
Women’s Building, now known as the Spruce Building. With 150 adult beds, 80 bassinets, two operating rooms and a series of labor and delivery rooms as well as outpatient clinics, it was considered “one of the most modern hospital buildings in the country” and was so designated, well into the 1950s.
Harte Memorial Building and gardens
Garfield Duncan Building
Farm Journal Building
President’s House
Carriage House
Develop a Tree Succession Plan
Conduct an inventory and conditions assessment of collections
Develop a Visitor Management Plan
Develop a new interpretation strategy that is both distinct from and builds on the PennHealth System.
New interpretive strategies should be integrated into (existing and potential):
Landscape & Gardens
Campus outdoor and interior spaces
Website
Tours (in person and virtual)
Hospital television channel
PAH podcasts - featuring stories on PAH history, innovations, key figures and events, contemporary themes, ongoing relevance, and interviews.
Existing historic and interpreted spaces (Library, Surgical Amphitheater, Great Court) and other spaces with high potential for interpretation (Physicians’ lounge, basement cell).
Further develop the digital site map and 3D site model for use in PAH interpretation media showing the evolution of the site.