The Boston City Hospital (1864–1996), in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

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, was a public hospital, located in the South End. It was "intended for the use and comfort of poor patients, to whom medical care will be provided at the expense of the city, and ... to provide accommodations and medical treatment to others, who do not wish to be regarded as dependent on public charity."Boston Directory (1864) In 1996, it merged with the

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...

Medical Center Hospital to form the

Boston Medical Center Boston Medical Center (BMC) is a non-profit 514-bed academic medical center in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest safety-net hospital and Level I trauma center in New England. BMC employs 1,466 physicians—including 711 residents and f ...

. This building is currently under study for

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status by the

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History

In the mid-19th century, "the hospital was suggested ... by Elisha Goodnow, who, by his will, dated July 12, 1849, gave property to the city valued at $25,000, for establishment of a free city hospital in Wards Eleven or Twelve." Architect Gridley James Fox Bryant designed the first hospital, built 1861–1864 on Harrison Avenue in the South End. It was renovated in 1875 and again in 1891–1892. As of 1905, the hospital consisted of " the hospital proper, on the area bounded by Harrison Avenue, East Concord Street, Albany Street and Massachusetts Avenue, containing 430,968 square feet, or 9.9 acres; the South Department, 745 Massachusetts Avenue, containing 125,736 square feet, or 2.9 acres; the ambulance station, boiler and dynamo house, coal-pocket and wharf, Albany street, containing 69,785 square feet, or 1.6 acres; the convalescent home, Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester, containing 610,500 square feet, or 14 acres; and the relief station, Haymarket Square, 8,507 square feet, or 0.2 acres." In 1923, the Thorndike Memorial Laboratory was established at Boston City Hospital with support provided by Dr. George L. Thorndike in memory of his brother, William, a long-time City Hospital staff member. The Thorndike had 17 beds for clinical research and became one of the nation's most distinguished research facilities. Seminal studies in

hematology Hematology ( always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the produc ...

and related discliplies were conducted in this facility by

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is cons ...

faculty and other investigators. In 1968, the Finland Laboratory for Infectious Diseases was established at Boston City Hospital in honor of Dr. Maxwell Finland, a leading clinical investigator in

infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable di ...

s. When academic and clinical responsibility for Boston City Hospital passed to

in 1973, these laboratories were incorporated into the research programs of the Boston University Department of Medicine faculty. As of 2008, the buildings at 818 Harrison Avenue are partially extant: "some sections of the original hospital remain here and there within the hodgepodge of later construction."

History

See also

References

Further reading