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In 1835, the overcrowded
Philadelphia Almshouse moved to Blockley Township in West Philadelphia, an area once known as "Blockley Farm" now between 34th Street and University Avenue. Built to house a variety of Philadelphia's indigent population, the facility consisted of a quadrangle of four sizable
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History of the
Philadelphia Almshouses and Hospitals from the Beginning of the Eighteenth to the Ending of the Nineteenth Centuries, Covering a Period of Nearly Two Hundred Years, Showing the Mode of Distributing Public Relief Through the Management of the Boards of Overseers of the Poor, Guardians
195:, Blockley's early reputation for care was dismal. In 1864, the "Female Lunatic Asylum" building was accidentally destroyed by workers installing heaters, killing 18 women and injuring another 20. Blockley's geographical isolation from city medical institutions limited clinical care until the
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The
Blockley Almshouse had its roots in the Philadelphia Almshouse, a facility first located in the block between Third, fifth, Spruce and Pine Streets. Constructed in 1731–32, this institution provided the first government-sponsored care of the poor in America, as it offered an infirmary and
219:"Old Blockley" was renamed Philadelphia General Hospital (PGH) in 1919. In the next few decades, the original almshouse buildings were gradually replaced with modern facilities. By the 1950s the site contained the city's public hospital, as well as a nursing home and a home for the indigent.
207:, replacing ad hoc patient nurses with a system of skilled nursing. In 1903, operations of the hospital were turned over to the newly created Bureau of Hospitals in the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. In 1906, the insane were moved to the
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As the latter 19th century saw advancements in both medicine and psychiatry, Blockley's mission gradually embraced that of a more conventional public hospital. A nursing school was opened at the site in 1885 under the direction of
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In 1952, the new City Home Rule
Charter placed the control of Philadelphia General Hospital with a board of trustees. Under contracts signed in 1959, care at PGH was carried out by the medical schools of
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also stands on former
Almshouse grounds. A long brick wall topped by an ornately decorated iron fence that dates back to PGH still forms part of the southern and western boundaries of the site.
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allowed private hospitals to expand treatment for the poor. Facing both financial difficulties as well as a stock of aging buildings, the board of PGH closed the hospital entirely in 1977.
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buildings including a poorhouse, a hospital, an orphanage, and an insane asylum. Construction of the first building had begun in 1830, with its cornerstone laid on May 26.
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estate. This parcel of land stretched from what are now known as Civic Center
Boulevard to Guardian Drive and from University Avenue to 34th Street. A blue
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of the Poor and the
Directors of the Department of Charities and Correction; With an Appendix Containing a List of Former Visiting and Resident Physicians
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In 1767, it moved to larger quarters occupying the block between Tenth, Eleventh, Spruce and Pine
Streets. This site was officially called the
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In 2001, more than 1,000 bodies associated with the
Almshouse were recovered from an adjacent construction site and reburied in nearby
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The institution was later renamed the
Philadelphia Almshouse and Hospital, but it was commonly called "
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History of Blockley: A History of the Philadelphia General Hospital from Its Inception, 1731-1928
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Provider of Last Resort: The Story of the Closure of the Philadelphia General Hospital
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184:, later to be a well-known architect, worked as journeyman carpenter on the project.
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and represents a major center of medical research and care in Philadelphia. The
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hospital for the sick and insane, besides housing and feeding the impoverished.
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was erected on Curie Boulevard commemorating the significance of the site.
262:(CHoP) & a portion of the PGH era brick, limestone & ironwork wall.
138:. It originally opened in 1732/33 in a different part of the city as the
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Blockley days: Memories and Impressions of a Resident Physician 1883-1884
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146:, established 1713). Philadelphia General Hospital closed in 1977.
387:"The Old Stone Barn and Farmer's House of the Blockley Alms House"
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191:" for decades after. Operated by a city committee known as the
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From The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Digital Library
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The Almshouse was built by the city in what was then known as
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and the University of Pennsylvania, who subcontracted work to
325:. Publisher: 94 p. Printed for private circulation, 1916.
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Entrance of Philadelphia General Hospital (Old Blockley)
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Philadelphia General Hospital Photograph Collection
46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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242:By the early 1970s, public support including
393:at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
473:Buildings and structures in Philadelphia
372:West Philadelphia, Seeds of Urban Growth
287:University of Pennsylvania Health System
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281:Today the site is occupied by parts of
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357:NYT: Fearful Disaster in Philadelphia
332:. Philadelphia, F.A. Davis Co., 1929.
44:adding citations to reliable sources
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339:. Camino Books, Philadelphia, 2005.
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468:Almshouses in the United States
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391:"The Philadelphia Alms House"
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