Photo Retrospective Launches Centennial Year Of Doylestown Hospital

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Doylestown Health will celebrate its centenary in 2023 with special events and exhibits that chronicle ten decades of delivering care with compassion and expertise.

In 1923, the Village Improvement Association of Doylestown (VIA) established Doylestown Hospital at its first location at Pine and Oakland Streets in Doylestown. Rapid population growth and new demands necessitated the hospital’s relocation to a new location on Belmont Avenue
in 1939. Doylestown Hospital continued to develop and expand, adding new services and programs to meet the health needs of the community.

“We are proud to have reached this important milestone,” said Jim Brexler, President and CEO of Doylestown Health. “A hundred years ago, the women of the Village Improvement Association had a clear vision of providing the best possible patient care right here in our home
community. They were forward-thinking in their approach of enlisting community support to build the hospital and sustain it over the past century,” said Brexler.

Since the hospital was dedicated at its present location on State Street in 1975, Doylestown Hospital has grown into a nationally recognized and award-winning hospital. Doylestown Hospital is the flagship of Doylestown Health, a comprehensive network providing quality healthcare to patients in Bucks County and beyond.

“This year is truly a celebration of a century of caring for our community and, more importantly, for the people who built this extraordinary tradition of patient-centered care,” said Laura Wortman, Doylestown Health’s chief advancement officer. “The first hospital was built by people in the community, for the community, and that tradition of comprehensive support inspires the patient care we offer today,” she says.

Along with many highlights, a number of special centennial events will be held throughout the year, including hospital and community-wide celebrations showcasing the history of the hospital, the ongoing advances of Doylestown Health and its vision for the future.

Many of the events hosted by Doylestown Health and community partners are free and open to the public.

A special website dedicated to the hospital’s centenary, DH100.org, has been launched, presenting the history and stories of Doylestown Hospital from its early decades to the present. All are invited to share stories and memories of Doylestown Hospital. Stories and photos are shared in publications and across digital and social media throughout the year (#DH100).

The Bricks and Mortals exhibit at Doylestown Health opens on February 4th.

The first centennial event, Bricks and Mortals: The Centennial Exhibit – A Photographic Retrospective of Doylestown Hospital, features photographs by Ed Eckstein, originally commissioned in 1998 during the hospital’s 75th anniversary, to capture the “essence of the healing environment ” to document.

Evoking timeless moments of comfort, healing, dignity and vulnerability, the inspirational photos capture the enduring heart and spirit of the Doylestown Health community.

Eckstein was given access to all areas of the hospital and took more than 4,000 pictures. Of these, 39 were selected for an exhibition entitled “Healing Images, Healing Arts: 75 Years of Care at Doylestown Hospital,” which was first displayed at the Michener Museum in 1998. Additional photos were taken in 2005 and displayed at Doylestown Hospital. In 2008, the images were published in a companion book, Bricks and Mortals: A Hospital Observed.

Now in 2023, the compelling photographs in this exhibition comprise a curated selection of never-before-seen images from Eckstein’s original commission to honor the 100th anniversary of the VIA’s founding of the hospital and the profound impact his mission has had on the has community.

To sign up and view the latest news and event information, visit DH100.org.

Bricks and Mortals: The Centennial Exhibit

• This Doylestown Hospital Photographic Retrospective opens on Saturday, February 4 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Doylestown Hospital ArtWalk, 595 West State Street. Photographer Ed Eckstein will share his thoughts and answer questions. Bricks and Mortals signed limited edition copies are available for purchase. Free parking is available in the Doylestown Hospital parking garage. Registration is required. The exhibition runs until February 26th.

• Self-guided tours of the exhibition are free and open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through February 26. The ArtWalk Gallery is located on the first floor of Doylestown Hospital and can be accessed directly from the parking garage ($2/day). . Use the emergency room entrance on weekends.

About the photographer

• Ed Eckstein began his career in the 1960s and documented the social upheavals of that time. He continues to shoot worldwide for a range of editorial, corporate and advertising clients. He calls his imagery “object photography”. Eckstein’s images are powerful, unmanipulated and distilled from visual encounters with people and places. Find out more: edeckstein.com

Photographer Ed Eckstein