The Philly Killer

In July 1976, about 2,000 veterans from across Pennsylvania checked into the Bellevue-Stratford on Broad Street for the American Legion convention. Within days, 180 of them were seriously ill. Ten days after it ended, 22 people had died of a pneumonia nobody could name.

You walk into the Cadwalader Gallery to 1970s music and a red, white and blue color scheme, past a staged living room, then follow the outbreak along big walls of photographs and text. It covers the feverish press coverage, the conspiracy theories, the city, state and federal epidemiologists, and the Congressional hearings, and ends on the present: Legionella is still the leading cause of waterborne disease outbreaks in the US.

Entry is included with a standard Mütter ticket. Medical, nursing and public health students get $15 off a timed ticket with the code MEDSTUDY250. The museum stays open until 8pm on Tuesdays through 27 October.