March 31, 2000

More than 50 people came to the MGH March 25 to visit the Ether Dome as part of the inaugural tour of the Boston Innovation Trail. A first-of-its-kind interactive tour, the trail highlights many medical, biomedical, technological, financial and educational discoveries that are part of Boston's history. The trail was launched in conjunction with the BIO 2000 conference being held at the Hynes Auditorium.

Donna Burgess, (below, center) a tour guide for the trail, gave a brief overview of the first demonstration of the use of ether in surgery that took place in the Ether Dome in 1846. The Ether Dome will continue to be one of the highlights on the tour.