Western Pennsylvania Hospital (West Penn)
BBy Pub. by Mullen Brothers, Pittsburgh, PA. "Tichnor Quality Views," Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Made Only by Tichnor Bros., Inc., Boston, Mass. - Boston Public Library Tichnor Brothers collection #61403, Public Domain
Location:
4800 Friendship Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Description:
Western Pennsylvania Hospital, commonly known as West Penn Hospital, was founded in 1848 as Pittsburgh’s first publicly chartered, non-sectarian hospital. Initially located on a hillside in what is now Polish Hill, the original four‑story brick structure opened in 1853 and treated many patients injured in the city's burgeoning industrial mills and rail yards. During the Civil War, it was commandeered as a military hospital, serving roughly 3,000 Union soldiers, before returning to civilian use by 1865.
As medical education evolved, West Penn established one of the region’s earliest medical schools in the 1880s and opened a nursing school in 1892—integral steps that positioned it as a training ground for future physicians and nurses. By the early 1900s, shifting urban dynamics and technological needs prompted a move: in 1909 the cornerstone was laid for a grand new X‑shaped hospital in Bloomfield, and the modern six‑story facility officially opened on New Year’s Day, 1912, complete with advanced operating rooms, X‑ray labs, and an entire wing dedicated to treating steel mill accidents.
The architectural footprint of the Bloomfield campus expanded steadily: in 1950 an obstetrical wing was added, followed by an intensive care unit in 1958. The Mellon Pavilion and a state‑of‑the‑art Burn Unit debuted in 1970 alongside a helicopter landing pad, the East Tower rose in 1981 to serve critical and diagnostic functions, and a nine‑story patient care tower capped with a copper dome was completed in 1995.
Throughout its existence, West Penn has remained at the forefront of medical innovation—growing from a modest charitable institution to a major academic hospital. It merged with Allegheny Health Network in 2013, and today continues as a 317‑bed teaching hospital, widely respected for its obstetric services, neonatal intensive care, burn trauma treatment, and nationally recognized stem-cell transplantation programs. The hospital’s layered campus reflects both its enduring philanthropic roots and ongoing architectural evolution in response to changing healthcare demands.
