Ether Dome

Museum · West End

Ether Dome

Museum · West End

1

Boston, MA 02114

Photos

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Ether Dome by e1savage (Atlas Obscura User)
Ether Dome by e1savage (Atlas Obscura User)
Ether Dome by e1savage (Atlas Obscura User)
Ether Dome by ATLAS_OBSCURA
Ether Dome by http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiousexpedi...
Ether Dome by http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiousexpedi...
Ether Dome by http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiousexpedi...
Ether Dome by ATLAS_OBSCURA
Ether Dome by null
Ether Dome by null
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Ether Dome by null
Ether Dome by null
Ether Dome by null
Ether Dome by null
Ether Dome by null
Ether Dome by null
Ether Dome by null
Ether Dome by null
Ether Dome by null
Ether Dome by null
Ether Dome by null
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Ether Dome by null
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Ether Dome by null

Highlights

The Ether Dome at Mass General Hospital is a stunning, historic operating theater where surgical anesthesia was first used, complete with antique tools and a real mummy.  

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Boston, MA 02114 Get directions

massgeneral.org

Information

Static Map

Boston, MA 02114 Get directions

+1 617 726 2000
massgeneral.org

Features

restroom
wheelchair accessible entrance
wheelchair accessible restroom

Last updated

Jul 30, 2025

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A Tour of the World's Most Delightful Domes

"The Ether Dome, in Boston, MA, was a working operating theater at the Massachusetts General Hospital between 1821 and 1868. Dr. William T.G. Morton, a Boston dentist, made medical history in this location in 1846, when he administered ether anesthetic to a patient just before Dr. John Collins Warren operated on a tumor in the patient’s neck. The patient slept comfortably during the operation and upon awakening announced that he had felt no pain. News of this first demonstration of surgical anesthesia spread rapidly, transforming medical practice throughout the world. The beautifully preserved operating theater, featuring a copper dome topped with windows that let in natural light, is nestled within the huge, still operating Mass General Hospital. Oddly, the Ether Dome also has an Egyptian mummy on display, laying down in a glass case, its white teeth gleaming next to its coffin. Across from the mummy is a skeleton in a matching case. And surrounding the edges of the stage are antique surgical instruments. But the real delight of the Ether Dome lies in the historic first use of ether - also on display, in the form of an enormous painting of that fateful surgery in 1846." - ATLAS_OBSCURA

https://www.atlasobscura.com/lists/domes-architecture-world-tour
View Postcard for Ether Dome

Fito H

Google
Nice building, historic context and interesting stories and pictures along the area. recommended to go on a tour with MGH which occurs frequently.

Ann

Google
I’m glad to have read the history behind this place and then visit. It makes it more worthwhile. At the MGH main entrance ask for directions. Do note you are only allowed to visit if there are no reservations.

Althea Fiore

Google
It is a secret gem in Boston. This place is historical history. Think of it...the very first operation performed using anesthesia was performed here. It is open every day from 9 am to 8 pm.

Jim Mondani

Google
Not something you think about when visiting Boston but it’s a really cool, quick place to visit You explore on your own. There’s also a real Egyptian mummy. The mummy display allows you to get up front and personal

Álvaro Morales

Google
Very iconic and historic place in the history of modern medicine: the first place where an anesthetic was used during surgery. Very interesting to see the original operating from room preserved as it was during this first surgical procedure with ether. Anyone interested in the history of medicine would gain a great perspective of what medicine was like back in the nineteenth century.

Skoog Susan

Google
Park in the 55 Fruit St. Garage at MGH. Take your ticket with you. Go through the hospital main entrance to the public info desk, confirm hours of the Ether Dome. Take the hall to the left of the info desk, walk past the cafe, down the hall, following signs for the Bulfinch building. Take the elevator to the 4th floor of Bulfinch, and follow the signs to the Ether Dome. It's open every day all year until 8pm, according to the official posted signs on both entrances, with perhaps some holiday exceptions (contrary to the museum website which lists seasonal hours.) There's a restroom several floors below, down the grand staircase. Please note, when you leave, you have to pay for parking with a human before getting into your car. There are two sets of human remains here: The mummified person is Padihershef, a middle-class stonemason who worked at a necropolis at Thebes. A Dutch magnate took his remains to Boston in the 1820s. The second person's remains (unnamed?) are prepared as an upright articulated skeleton.

Jakub Morze

Google
Place known only from Thorwald's "Century of the Surgeon" is even greater in real life. Certainly worth to be visited.

Timothy Meeker

Google
This is definitely the kind of historical site you feel like you shouldn't be in, it's that well preserved and serene. There's a ton of historical signage posted for information around the back, and there's an additional ton of medical and historical artifacts. I mean, there's a mummy. Just a straight up mummy in plain view with nobody else around. It's an experience!