At Temple University, A Glimpse Into The Medical School's Past
By John McDevitt
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As crews prepare to demolish an old Temple University medical school building on North Broad Street, a time capsule found behind the 1930 cornerstone was opened this afternoon.
Eighty-four years ago, artifacts were placed into a tin box and placed behind the building's cornerstone.
Today, after construction workers removed the box, Dr. Larry Kaiser, the dean of the Temple University School of Medicine (center of photo), went through it.
Among the items rediscovered was a copy of the Philadelphia Record from June 18, 1930.
"So we found the newspaper of the day when the cornerstone was put in," Kaiser tells KYW Newsradio. "Several different newspapers, some of which no longer exist. We found a number of medical school periodicals and some photographs: photographs of the building, photographs of the old hospital, photographs of some of the facility. So, it's very exciting to see that."
Moisture got into the box, so not everything was able to withstand the test of time. But the items that did will be placed in the school's archives.
"Medicine, in many respects, is about tradition and history," says Kaiser, "and to be able to see what was going on in 1930, when this building was completed, is very exciting."