A 150-Year Partnership
The University of California and San Francisco General Hospital share a 150-year partnership and daily commitment to the health of San Francisco. For more than 50 years the Division of Neurology at ZSFG has provided access to neurologic care for everyone in San Francisco in the inpatient setting. Today, in addition to the thousands of patients we see each year in the hospital, we take care of many thousands more in our outpatient general neurology and specialty clinics.
Founded in 1857, the San Francisco General Hospital was established in Telegraph Hill. Less than 10 years later, UCSF was established next door as Toland Medical School.
In 1872, the General Hospital was moved to its current location on Potrero Avenue in a series of wooden buildings that were burned in 1907 as San Francisco battled the plague.
In 1917, the San Francisco General Hospital reopened in the historic brick buildings along Potrero Avenue. .
1917 - 1977 Buildings 1 - 90
For more than 100 years, these beautiful buildings have provided care to San Francisco's people. Brick buildings 1 - 90 were the inpatient hospital and housing for physician trainees. Some patient care activities are still housed in these historic hospital buildings.
Known as "nightingale wards," the brick buildings provided long open wards in which all patients could be seen by nursing staff.
In 1917, the new Emergency Department opened in the new brick buildings on Potrero Avenue.
The hallways between the brick buildings created an atrium for patients.
1977 - Present: Buildings 5 and 25
In 1976, the County opened a new inpatient facility in Building 5. For the time, this facility offered numerous state of the art improvements, new surgery facilities, a new burn unit, private rooms for patients, and clinic space. In 2016, the new Zuckerberg San Francisco General brought the most modern medical facilities to our patients.
For 40 years, from 1976-2016, Building 5 provided inpatient and outpatient services.
In 2016, the new state of the art Zuckerberg San Francisco General was opened for inpatient services.
An expansive history of the San Francisco General Hospital, by one of the Chiefs of Surgery, is available online.