Blockley Almshouse

Constructed in 1731–32, this institution provided the first government-sponsored care of the poor in America, as it offered an infirmary and hospital for the sick and insane, besides housing and feeding the impoverished.

Built to house a variety of Philadelphia's indigent population, the facility consisted of a quadrangle of four sizable buildings including a poorhouse, a hospital, an orphanage, and an insane asylum.

In 1864, the "Female Lunatic Asylum" building was accidentally destroyed by workers installing heaters, killing 18 women and injuring another 20.

As the latter 19th century saw advancements in both medicine and psychiatry, Blockley's mission gradually embraced that of a more conventional public hospital.

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 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.