Heritage values were identified through a process of historical and field research and stakeholder interviews. Throughout the stakeholder interviews, a number of recurrent themes emerged.
In the conservation literature, heritage values are often divided into broad categories pertaining to: historical, use, scientific, aesthetic, educational, communal, and evidentiary (archaeological), values. Value categories, while at times distinct, are understood to be interrelated and often overlapping.
The ways in which past people, events and aspects of life can be connected through a place to the present
The Hospital’s historical value is both illustrative and associative.
Illustrative historical values possess the power to “aid interpretation of the past through making connections with, and providing insights into, past communities and their activities through shared experience of a place.”
Associative values are characterized by a site’s association with notable individuals, events, or movements.
As the nation’s first hospital and one of the key institutions embodying American Enlightenment ideals of the era, the Hospital holds a distinct place in American medical history and is illustrative of this historical movement.
The use and appropriate management of a place for its original purpose...Illustrates the relationship between design and function
The Hospital is and has always been a mission driven institution. Since its founding, it has continuously served its stated purpose which was conceived of as an expression of humanity and act of public service - to relieve the sick poor and to receive and care for the bodies and minds of those who languish. The Hospital’s unbroken fulfilment of its original purpose is central to its heritage significance.
The embodied illustrative and/or associative values of a site and its capacity to reveal more about an aspect of the past through examination or investigation of the place, including the use of archaeological techniques
In addition, scientific value may pertain to past scientific accomplishments, advances in scientific thought, or the potential of a site to advance scientific research.
The Hospital occupies a central role in early American medical practice and education.
Hospital building and grounds design, systems infrastructure, land use, and patient care evolved in tandem as a reflection of evolving theories of miasma, germs, contagion, and health (physical and mental).
The Hospital collections and archives possess evidentiary value of scientific thought, the maturation of the medical profession, medical practice, and education.
Aesthetic value derives from the ways in which people draw sensory and intellectual stimulation from a place
Design value, an aspect of aesthetic value relates primarily to the aesthetic qualities generated by the conscious design of a building, structure or landscape as a whole.
The aesthetic values of the Pine Building are apparent in the quality and execution of its Georgian architectural design as evidenced in the building’s symmetrical plan and massing and decorative architectural details, the Great Court, Historic Library, Surgical Amphitheater, and selection and use of building materials.
The aesthetic values of the landscape and gardens have been documented in historic literature and tourist guidebooks as well as contemporary instagram and twitter posts.
The in situ Hospital archives and collections are a recognized valuable resource for scholarly research on medical thought, practice, education, economy, attitudes towards mental health, and socio-political and medical framings of public health.
The Hospital archives are a valuable resource for research into early American history, the development of Philadelphia, and its association with many of the early leading figures of the city and the proto-nation.
The Hospital gardens are an ongoing source of educational value whose potential is yet to be fully realized.
Social value is associated with places that people perceive as a source of identity, distinctiveness, social interaction and coherence. Communal value derives from the meanings of a place for the people who relate to it, or for whom it figures in their collective experience or memory
The Hospital has been a Philadelphia landmark (both official and informal) since its creation over 250 years ago. Landmarks are anchors of neighborhood and social identity over time.
The Hospital fosters many distinct and overlapping communities.
The Hospital gardens have served as a gathering place for these diverse communities and as such have facilitated in the coherence of generations of communities.