John Bartram (1699-1777)

Philadelphia, PA · est. 1971

In 1821, a group of Philadelphia apothecaries gathered at historic Carpenters' Hall—the same building where the First Continental Congress had met—to found a college that would raise pharmacy from an informal trade into a trained profession. Incorporated the following year, it became the first pharmacy school in the United States. Its founding reflected the young republic's broad push to professionalize the sciences and safeguard public health.

Philadelphia, PA · est. 2002

Established in 1855, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was the first hospital in the nation devoted entirely to the care of children. Over the decades it became a proving ground for pediatric medicine, developing lifesaving vaccines, pioneering newborn surgical techniques, and advancing treatment for childhood cancer. Its founding reflected a growing 19th-century conviction that children's health deserved dedicated, specialized care.

Philadelphia, PA · est. 2019

Founded in 1974 on Spruce Street and moved to this location in 1981, this was the first Ronald McDonald House — a place where families of hospitalized children could stay near their kids at little or no cost. It grew from the vision of pediatric oncologist Dr. Audrey Evans, who joined forces with Philadelphia Eagles GM Jimmy Murray and a McDonald's executive to make it real. What began as one Philadelphia house became a model copied by hundreds of chapters around the world.

Philadelphia, PA · est. 1997

Inside this Philadelphia building—one of the first constructed specifically for television—a local dance show called "Bandstand" went on the air in 1952. When Dick Clark took over as host in 1956 and the program debuted nationally as "American Bandstand" on ABC in 1957, it became a cultural phenomenon, beaming the latest music and dance steps to teenagers across the country. Broadcast from WFIL-TV here until 1964, it helped define the sound and style of a generation.