Here’s something to do in Boston if you’re looking for an under-the-radar, quick-hit-of-history experience: visit the Ether Dome at Mass General. The Ether Dome was the hospital’s original surgical operating amphitheater and in it, on 16 October 1846, the use of ether as an anesthetic was first publicly demonstrated by dentist William T.G. Morton and MGH Chief of Surgery John Collins Warren. More info in the Wikipedia entry.
Unless in use for teaching, the Ether Dome is open to the public daily, 9am until 8pm. (Update: Hours are now Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm.) I find it crazy, and love, that this place is open nearly anytime for anyone to explore. When I went, late in the afternoon on a Sunday, I had to call Security to unlock the door. I had to call Security a second time to ask how to turn on the lights. But then — wow! It is a little eerie, and very cool.
The space has been restored to how it looked when it was built, in the early 19th century. (If you’re curious to learn more: The Ether Dome: The restoration of an icon.) Inside you will find an Egyptian mummy, a statue of David, an anatomical skeleton once used for teaching, and a couple cases of antique surgical equipment. There are the seats used by doctors of yore, impossibly steep, with name plates attached to the backs, and that beautiful copper-plated, skylighted, dome.
There are old photographs and documents in the stairwell (look for the photo of the Bulfinch Building, home to the Ether Dome, from when it used to sit directly on the bank of the Charles River; the building is now about a quarter mile from the bank).
In the artifact cases, there are a few, brief, typewritten labels — but little overall in the way of interpretation. There is a text panel by the entrance to the Dome, and one resting at the feet of the Egyptian mummy. I’m glad I did a little bit of research before I went.
On the left, Dr. Warren’s seat:
I'll let you in on something I discovered: if you stand about where I was standing to take that photo (in front of the seats), make noise and listen for the acoustic effects.
Below is a contemporary painting of that famous surgery, created for “Ether Day 2001,” and here is an article about the reenactment staged for its creation. I put up my full set of Ether Dome photos on flickr, here.
Post updated in January 2021 with minor text edits. Broken links have been fixed, replaced, or replaced with archived URLs, courtesy of archive.org. This post was originally published at theexhibitdesigner.com on 18 January 2010.