{"nrhp_refnum":"70000682","name":"Massachusetts General Hospital","other_names":["See Also:Ether Dome"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Fruit Street","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.36331511450004,"lon":-71.06791827538531,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-12-30","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1970-12-30","areas_of_significance":["Science","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Massachusetts General Hospital's original granite hospital building (the Bulfinch Building) on Fruit Street in Boston, designed by Charles Bulfinch and built in 1818-23, with wings added in 1844-46.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a superb example of a public building in the Classical Revival style and a major, rare example of an early 19th-century large city hospital. Its south facade survives virtually unaltered, though the interior was heavily reworked. The Ether Dome portion was earlier declared eligible as a National Historic Landmark for scientific discoveries.","narrative":"Massachusetts General Hospital's original building on Fruit Street in Boston is a long granite structure with two stories over a raised rusticated basement, a central Ionic portico, flanking wings, and a saucer dome. Charles Bulfinch designed it in 1817 after studying city hospitals in New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, and Alexander Parris supervised construction from 1818 to 1823. The granite was cut at the state prison in Charlestown by convict labor, keeping the cost to about $70,000. Wings designed by George Perkins nearly doubled the building in 1844-46, matching the original style. The south facade of the center section remains virtually unaltered, but the interior was heavily reworked, and only two stair halls with cantilevered stone stairs survive from the early period. The building is valued as a fine Classical Revival public building and a rare early large-city hospital. Its Ether Dome was also recognized for scientific discoveries. Today it is used largely for clinical research, and parts are open to visitors.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific dates 1818-23, September 30, 1846)","architect_builder":"Designed by Charles Bulfinch; erected by Alexander Parris; 1844-46 wings designed by George Perkins","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"In excellent condition, largely used for clinical research, with portions open to visitors; surrounded by a large modern hospital complex.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.503135-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/65/7938/63793865/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/70000682_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000682/71871b8960-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000682/71871b8960-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Kenneth C. Zirkel","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bulfinch_Building_at_Massachusetts_General_Hospital,_2024.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenneth C. Zirkel</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bulfinch_Building_at_Massachusetts_General_Hospital,_2024.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793865","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_General_Hospital,_Bulfinch_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17183458"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/massachusetts-general-hospital-70000682/"}