Dittrick Medical Museum
Welcome to the Dittrick Medical Museum, the iconically educational, and free, part of the Western Reserve Campus in Cleveland. This museum is open until 4:30 on most days, located on the 3rd floor of the Allen Memorial Medical Library, on Euclid Avenue. Inside you and your group can discover the history of medicine through various onsite artifacts, archives, rare book collections, and images. Considered to be ‘one of the most comprehensive collections of surgical instruments and medical equipment in all of America’, this whole establishment began in 1898, when Dittrick (the foundation, not the museum) was first established.
Dittrick was founded as a historical committee of the Cleveland Medical Library Association, headed by locally respected Dr. Dudley Peter Allen. Allen, a respected surgeon, and researcher left several medical antiques and artifacts, instruments and mementos to the association, creating the collection you see today. Explore the ‘curious and comprehensive collection’ filled with artifacts, rare books, archives, images, uniforms, microscopes, turn-of-the-century x-ray machines, and so much more. You should try to save plenty of time to delve deeper into the endoscopy exhibit, early contraception exhibit, and the rare books of Freud and Darwin exhibit while here, all extremely interesting and rare looks at the subjects in question. Any student or group member who is interested in the medical field, anatomy, or science, in general, will love this educational (and entertaining) museum opportunity, we guarantee it!
