Bulfinch by Floor

Browse through all of the content we have on each floor.

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Basement
Ether Dome
First floor
Second floor
Third floor

black & white photo of painting

Nursing quarters, in a nurse’s words

Green and black Illustration of medical ward

Illustration of medical ward, 1963

Ether Dome interior as seen from top middle seats

The Ether Dome

A room with a table, chairs, and beds, with adults and children.

Ward 23, 1888

A screenshot of a camera reflected in a hallway security mirror

The making of this tour

Title screen of 360 video of Ether Dome.

The Ether Dome through history

Sepia-toned group portrait of ten seated women wearing identical nurse uniforms

Training School for Nurses, 1898

Microscopic image, mostly with small and large violet-colored spots and a few smaller ones are magenta in color.

Changing attitudes about syphilis patients

black & white photo of a man sitting in fron of a large device with a cylinder resting on his right arm

Potential site of Dodd’s X-ray

black & white photo of a long table with several chairs

Site of House Pupils’ dining room, 1872

black & white photo hallway with two nurses standing at doorways on each side

Pavilion Wards, ca. 1878

Sara E. Parsons portrait

Portrait of Sara E. Parsons, RN (1861-1949)

Oil painting in late gold rectangular frame with oval cut-out

Portrait of James Jackson, MD (1777-1867)

Still from "Women at MGH" video

Anne Klibanski, MD: Women at the MGH

Impressionistic painted portrait with thick frame

Portrait of Loretta Joy Cummins, MD (1883-1958)

Dark carved wood box with gold details

Ding

painting of gray-haired, seated man in a gray suit. His right hand is resting on his left thigh.

Portrait of Charles A. Sanders, MD (1932- )

Painting of a man in formal, nineteenth-century clothing, in a gilded frame

Portrait of John Collins Warren, MD (1778-1856)

Sepia-toned photo of 9 people performing an operation

Bradlee Ward, ca. 1906

Technician in EEG laboratory

Early location of EEG laboratory

Research at MGH

yellowed receipt

Former location of patient toilets, 1924

hand-written letter

Isolation Room, 1924

white statue of a man wearing a quiver of arrows, a cape, sandals, and a fig leaf. Next to hi right leg is a tree stump with snake climbing up its side.

Plaster Apollo Belvedere

painting in gold frame

Portrait of Samuel Eliot (1739-1820)

Framed butterfly specimen case

Items from Thomas Hackett’s home study

Impressionistic painting of dark-haired man with tie and white coat. The head is tightly rendered but the torso and background are very loose and incomplete.

Portrait of Fuller Albright (1900-1969)

sepia-toned photo of eight men in white coats attending an operation, with several dark-suited men in the theater rows above observing

Bigelow Operating Theatre, January 31, 1903

Three small wooden boxes with metal handles. One is opened to display a stack of metal printing plates, three of which are propped up in front of the boxes

Printing plates

black & group photo of several rows of people standing in white uniforms. Each person's last name is written on their chests

Ether Day Commemoration, October 16, 1942

black & white photo shows four people, including a woman examing a girl's posture in a mirror.

Publicity campaign, 1926

A large overhead camera photographs a surgical specimen inside of a lightbox

Site of Photo Studio and Darkroom, 1924

oil painting in thick gold frame

Portrait of Abraham Touro (1774-1882)

Painting of seated, white-haired man wearing a brown sports coat and bow tie. He is holding a cane in his right hand.

Portrait of David C. Crockett (1910-2005)

Can of ether

Can of ether

painting of a bespectacled, gray-haired man in a gray suit, white shirt, and red tie, resting his left arm on a fireplace mantel

Portrait of James J. Mongan, MD (1942-2011)

black & white photo of two nurses at a desk in the center and two patients in bed on thee left and right behind them.

Medical ward, 1963

Screenshot of staircase leading from the Bulfinch Lawn to the Bulfinch Building, the top step is painted with a red line across its length

The Intern’s Step

portrait of Nathaniel W. Faxon

Portrait of Nathaniel W. Faxon, MD

Two stacked sepia-toned photos. Top: male patient, three male attendants, a female nurse, and a man in a dark suit in a room. Bottom: three women in beds in the background and a child in the foreground, looking at the camera

Surgical wards, ca. 1897

Nursing class in Mass General Ether Dome

Nursing alumnae

color photo of library room

Original location of Treadwell Library

Roman DeSanctis MD portrait

Portrait of Roman DeSanctis, MD

oil painting

Edward P. Lawrence

oil painting

Portrait of Ferdinand Colloredo-Mansfeld (1939-2017)

The old nurses’ dining room in a nurse’s words

black & white photo of large, sunlit room with eighty beds in view with four nurses and five patients

Former location of women’s medical ward

ca. 1856 black and white photo of three buildings on the wars egg. "A Photographic Album: Massachusetts General Hospital" is superimposed on the top

A Photographic Album

A room with a bed, over-bed table, and a curtained window

Former Location of Isolation Room

Four navy-colored ties, each with different designs embroidered in different colors

Bulfinch Memorabilia

still from "A decade on each floor" video

Anne Klibanski, MD: A decade for every floor

yellowed receipt with ornate text on top with an eagle engraving in the top left corner

Shreve, Crump & Low receipt for gas conversion

Portrait of Stanley Cobb, MD

Skeleton in case

Teaching skeleton, c. early 19th century

Former location of chemistry laboratories

painting of seated gray-haired man is gray suit, pale blue shirt, and navy blue tie.

Portrait of Francis Sargent Cheever, MD (1909-1997)

black and white drawing with several figures in a medical setting. At the center is a young woman, dressed in a hat and coat, holding a baby with a young boy at her left side, holding onto her coat.

Illustration of an MGH pediatric ward, 1920s

Loose clay head sculpture cast in bronze

Bronze head of Stanley Cobb, MD (1887-1968)

oil painting

Portrait of Henry P. Walcott, MD (1838-1932)

Painting of gray-haired woman wearing an ivory-colored cowl-neck sweater

Portrait of Eleanor Mayher Hackett (1937-2009)

Man kneeling over photo studio set-up

Origins of the photo lab

“The Back Bay Golden Goose” Cartoon

“The Back Bay Golden Goose” Cartoon

view from landing, looking down at the entryway door and lantern suspended overhead

Cantilevered Steps

Realistic painting from photo reference of Francis J. Bonner with part of the Bulfinch Building exterior in the background

Portrait of Frances J. Bonner, MD (1919-2000)

Screenshot of sign reading "MGH Staff Designated Seating Area" in MGH hallway

A sign of the times

color photo of ambulances lined up in front of hospital

Extraordinary times, extraordinary people

Building with columns, and railings are visible behind the columns.

Veranda for the pediatric wards, 1937

side-by-side columns of text on yellowed paper

Laundry chute

black & white phot go building with top demolished

Building demolition, July 7, 1937

An old copy of the Boston Herald lies on top of box, surrounded by other cardboard boxes with plaster dust. Headline reads: TAFT WINS DELEGATE TESTS, FIGHTS EISENHOWER SURGE; HOOVER BIDS FOR AIRPOWER"

Joseph Garland

Three wall-mounted plaques with several names listed

WWII Honor Roll

An 1876 receipt for mosquito netting for beds

Former site of House Pupils’ bedroom, 1872

detailed painting of a man's head, looking to his right, vignetted in an amber-colored background wash

“Ether Day 1846” character study

Underneath the simple round clockface are two sections to house the pendulum: An ornate design on the neck. Beneath that is a box with the Bulfinch building illustrated.

Banjo Clock

black & white photo of several nurses and bed-ridden patient in a large tented room

Tent Ward, 1898

Simon Willard Cabinet Clock, 1821

Ten black & white photos: Larger group photo of six men in top hats in the center surrounded by ten smaller individual portraits

Boston physicians, ca. 1860s

9 square black & white photos, there rows of three images. Most feature various exterior view of the campus but the center photo shows 5 men in white uniforms

Views of the MGH, ca. 1899

painting of white-haired man seated in an office environment. He is leaning forward, resting his left arm on his desk, and holding a pair of glasses with both hands.

Portrait of W. Gerald Austen, MD (1930- )

Portrait of Chester Middlebrook Pierce, MD

Portrait of Chester Middlebrook Pierce, MD (1927-2016)

Benjamin Shurtleff Shaw photo portrait

Site of Resident Physician’s offices, 1872

“Teeth in the bathroom!”

white marble (?) bust

Bust of Jacob Bigelow, MD (1786-1879)

black & white photo. The girl's dark hair is fashion into a short bowl cut.

Former pediatric ward

painting of a gray-haired, seated man in a 3-piece gray sit and blue tie. He is holding a pair of glasses in his right hand.

Portrait of John Endicott Lawrence (1910-2007)

Scale model of Bulfinch building in plexiglass case

Border of the 1847 addition

Women lying in beds. One woman on the right is sitting in a rocking chair.

Former site of West Surgical Ward 29, 1888

painting of white-haired woman in a nurse's uniform, with two medallions on the left breast pocket. Her right hand is resting onan open book and some papers.

Portrait of Sally Johnson, RN (1880-1957)

Impressionistic, full-figure painting

Portrait of Jane Claflin

Brass plaque is engraved with the words "G. H. GAY WARD MEMORIAL OF GEORGE HENRY GAY."

Gay Ward plaque

panoramic black & white photo of MGH campus with Bulfinch building on the right and tents on the left

Bulfinch yard, ca. 1919

vests, a coat, and two pairs of pants in a flat, wall-mounted glass case

Wedding attire of J. Mason Warren, MD (1811-1867)

Notebook with Microbiology stats

Site of Laboratories and Culture and Media Rooms, 1924

sepia-toned photo of several men in white coats attending an operation, with many more men in the theater rows above observing

Bigelow Operating Theatre, ca. 1867

black & white photo of two men in a library. The man on the left is in a wheelchair, reaching for a book, and the man in the right reading in a rocking chair

Former site of the Warren Library

1821 line engraving

Approximate site of beginning of 1846 extension

laundry room

Approximate site of hospital’s first laundry

Three black & white photos: The two on top, oval frames, are both portrait of Sara E. Parsons—in a nurse's uniform on the left and a military uniform on the right. The bottom photo features 5 men in a rectangular frame.

World War I effort, ca. 1917

Several dark suited men observing a surgery on a seated, unconscious patient performed by a man with white hair and beard.

“Ether Day, 1846”

painting of a gray-haired man holding a manila folder in both hands. He is wearing a gray jacket and red tie with black and gold stripes, Behind his is a painting on a wall and a sculpture on the windowsill.

Portrait of Jerrold “Jerry” Rosenbaum, MD

Portrait of Anna Lyman Gray (1853-1932)

Two woman stand next to a sundial on the Bulfinch Lawn

Sundial dedicated to nursing at MGH

A disassembled hanging balance scale with various weights laying between the pans

Site of Balance Room, 1924

painting in gold frame

Portrait of Ida M. Cannon (1877-1960)

color photo of several people around a conference room table, raising glasses of champagne

Jack W. Szostak, PhD

Floorplan sketch

Former lives of the Trustees Room

painting of white-haired, seated man, wearing glasses, a gray suit, and a bow tie.

Portrait of W. Nicholas Thorndike (1933-2021)

Point of view is looking straight up at the dome from the floor. Pale blue dome is interrupted by a gridded window, notched out of roughly 1/10th of the diameter

Skylight

Two high schoolers and an adult lean over a mannequin on a stretcher.

Mannequin for simulation training

Diet kitchen, 1924

black & white aerial photo of MGH

Aerial view of the MGH, January 27, 1937

video thumbnail

Latoya Brewster: An elevator ride up to history

A grid of 25 video screens with a person holding up a painting they did of the Bulfinch building in each frame.

The building as artistic inspiration

Original exterior wall

oil painting of a seated man in a suit. The man has gray hair and a mustache

Portrait of Frederic A. Washburn, MD (1869-1949)

painting

Portrait of Yvonne Munn, RN (1928-2017)

woodcarving with painted gold accents

The mystery of the Coat of Arms

A group of doctors listening to a presentation, seated in the tiered seating of a former operating theatre

Visit from Chinese doctors in 1972

black & white photo of apothecary room with several jars lining the wall on the right

Site of Apothecary

Woman wearing face shield and surgical mask

A perspective from a COVID-19 ICU

Portrait of Samuel O. Thier, MD (1937- )

black & white photo of man wearing grey suit, a bow tie, and glasses

The Legacy of William Augustus Hinton, MD

Saul Hertz, MD, tests how much radiation his subject (colleague Doris Darby) absorbed when using radioiodine as a tracer.

Approximate site of former thyroid clinic

Surgical and medical tools from the mid-19th century

Line engraving of Stone-cutting Department of the Massachusetts State Prison

Chelmsford granite

black and white photo of three buildings on the wars egg. "A Photographic Album: Massachusetts General Hospital" is superimposed on the top

Massachusetts General Hospital, ca. 1856

A title page reading Services at the Laying of the Corner Stone of the Massachsuetts General Hospital

The lost cornerstone

black & white floorpan of Bulfinch building's first floor with a red circles around room "E" and corresponding text in the key; "E Ice Room & Cold Storage"

Ice room and cold storage, 1872

Model of Bulfinch building

Charles Bulfinch, Boston’s – and MGH’s – first architect

A walled-off pit with wood and concrete inside.

What remains of the wharf

black & white group photo of fourteen men, each identified by writing in the margins of the frame

Group photo on the Bulfinch steps

painted portrait

Portrait of Juan Manuel Taveras, MD (1919-2002)

Columbian Centinel newspaper detail, Learned elephant article

Columbian Centinel

Side view of mummy in front of a Sarcophagus in a glass case

Sarcophagus and mummified remains of Padihershef

Floorplan of Bulfinch Building's first floor with a red "X' indicating viewer's location

You Are Here

Chelsea Health Center entrance with white title on blue awning

MGH Community Health Centers

black and white photo

Portrait of John Collins Warren (1778-1856)

Oil painting

Portrait of the Hon. William Phillips (1750-1827)

painting of a white-haired, seated man wearing a gray suit, glasses and a red tie. Behid him is an illustrated oriental screen

Portrait of J. Robert Buchanan, MD (1928- )

Black and white image of a plaque commemorating the founding of a clinical research ward in 1925

Site of Ward 4 laboratories, 1924

Two stacked black & white photos, each showing an old automobile with various people in or around

Ambulance service, 1908 and 1912