Davidge Hall, College of Medicine, is the first building erected for medical education

University of Maryland, Baltimore

1813

Categories: American Innovation, Education, Medicine, Other
Tags: 1776 – 1816, Baltimore City

Work is completed on the hall for the College of Medicine of Maryland (after 1959 named for its first dean Dr. John Beale Davidge (1768-1829). It is the first building purpose-built specifically for medicine in the country. The Medical College of Maryland is the first public school of medicine.

The domed building, reminiscent of the Roman Parthenon, is designed by early Baltimore architects Robert Cary Long, Sr. and Jr. with help from a well known immigrant, Maximilian Godefroy (1765-ca1838) who also designs the Battle Monument commemorating the Battle of Baltimore. Its main feature is a large theater for the anatomical demonstrations featured in early medicine.

Today, Davidge Hall is used for special events and houses a collection of medical artifacts including a mummified human.

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University of Maryland, College of Medicine, Davidge Hall

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