Jonas Salk Hall is located on the University of Pittsburgh campus.
Constructed in 1941 in the Art Deco style, the building was previously owned by the city of Pittsburgh, and was called the Pittsburgh Municipal Hospital for Contagious Diseases.
In an obvious move of selfishness, the hospital was built by President Roosevelt's Public Works Administration (remember, that guy in the wheelchair who had polio).
In a move that would make an Ayn Rand acolyte's head spin, the research department at this facility was funded by that same selfish Roosevelt's private foundation- the National Foundation on Infantile Paralysis (later named the March of Dimes).
In 1948, enter Jonas Salk, skilled and dedicated research scientist. He put together a team and a laboratory in the basement of this address and got to work. Seven years later, polio is gone. Gone! Seven years!
When asked who owned the patent to the vaccine, Salk replied "There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?" The estimated value, had the vaccine been patented, was roughly $7 billion.
