Ether Dome - first public demonstration of surgical anesthesia

The Ether Dome at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) on 55 Fruit Street is the site of the first public demonstration of surgical ether anesthesia on October 16, 1846. The amphitheater-style operating theater has been preserved as a historic site and museum space within MGH, and the event is widely documented in medical history. The Ether Dome remains a point of local and national historical interest for its role in the development of modern surgery.