Board Chairman Frederic H. Barth initially led PCOM to City Avenue; he had outlined an ambitious plan for a modern
academic medical center to include a hospital. In 1957, the College purchased 16 acres
of land and the Tudor Revival–style Moss Estate (today, Levin Administration Building)
housed on it. The estate was renovated to become an administration building situated
at the heart of the new campus.
Construction of the College campus site was phased over several years. Designed by architects Supowitz and Demchick, the 228-bed hospital, Frederic H. Barth Pavilion, was completed and dedicated in 1967. The facility featured a state-of-the-art surgical center with five operating room suites; a 12-bed psychiatric unit; a clinical laboratory; and coronary care, intensive care and cobalt units.
Construction of a six-story combined classroom, laboratory and library structure with sophisticated equipment—Dr. Barth’s noble vision—began in 1970. The campus’s principal building, Evans Hall (pictured above), was named for H. Walter Evans, DO, professor of obstetrics, who organized and chaired the Department of Preventive Medicine and guided the College’s program during the post-war years. The building was billed as “the last word in osteopathic-medical educational facilities.”
In August 1977, PCOM acquired a five-story, 150,000-square-foot office building adjacent to the campus, located at 4190 City Avenue. Erected by a New York City firm, the building was constructed of glass window walls wrapped around steel-reinforced concrete support columns. It was renovated by the College to include classrooms and lecture halls, conference rooms, research and OPP labs, faculty offices, outpatient offices for staff physicians, a bookstore, business offices and a print shop, and a School of Allied Health.
Watch the Reel for More History
Digest, the magazine for alumni and friends of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, is published by the Office of Marketing and Communications. The magazine reports on osteopathic and other professional trends of interest to alumni of the College’s Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) and graduate programs at PCOM, PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia.
© 2024 Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine