Ether Dome

The Ether Dome is defined by its semicircular, steep-tiered rows of wooden seats that sweep down toward a central operating floor, all bathed in natural light from a large overhead skylight. This space, located atop the Bulfinch Building at Massachusetts General Hospital, served as the hospital's primary operating theater from eighteen twenty-one until eighteen sixty-seven. Before the days of artificial lighting, the upper floor location was chosen to capture as much sun as possible for surgeons working on patients.