Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Taktsang Lhakhang, also known as the “Tiger’s Nest”.
Bhutan • 11 days, 10 nights
Festivals & Temples of Bhutan
from
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The ‘Old Secretariat’ government building in New Delhi.
The 'Old Secretariat'
This set is inspired by a Roman arena.
Bozdağ Film Platolari
The Sea Water Distilling Plant.
Sea Water Distilling Plant
Contemplative paths.
Ayo Rock Formations
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
The truth is out there—somewhere.
The Truth Is Out There at the Dreamland Resort (or Should We Say ‘Area 51?’)
18 days ago
Edward Payson Weston
How the 6-Day Race Became an American Spectator Obsession
19 days ago
Alresford Spy Toilet
This Public Bathroom in a Sleepy English Village Was an Epicenter for Cold War Espionage
22 days ago
Manhattan Well
The Manhattan Well: How Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton United to Solve a Murder Mystery
22 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States California Palo Alto Pneumatic Tube System at Stanford University Hospital

Pneumatic Tube System at Stanford University Hospital

Four miles of pipelines form the model of still-functioning retro-tech efficiency.

Palo Alto, California

Added By
Sarah Brumble
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
  http://medgadget.com/archives/2010/02/stan...
Add Photos
  http://medgadget.com/archives/2010/02/stan...
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Hidden within the walls of Stanford Hospital lies a secret Victorian visionaries would laud: more than four miles of four-inch galvanized steel tube, used exclusively for transmitting data, pharmaceuticals, and specimens at high speeds throughout Stanford University Hospital.

Pneumatic tube systems were originally designed in the 19th century to expedite items (mainly cash and paperwork) in situations where a faster-than-human pace of transport would be beneficial, such as post offices and department stores. Hospitals all over the world have used this technology for decades for the benefit of human health, including one of the largest systems in the country at Stanford (the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN holds honors for the biggest system).

Foot-long carriers zoom along, transporting everything from bodily fluids to medications up to a quarter mile away. While crossing the hospital’s vast premises, the containers reach speeds topping 18 miles per hour (25 feet per second). Blood is always given the highest priority (coded as “stat”).

Each nurse’s station is equipped with a sending and receiving station. A computer control system acts as the brains guiding each carrier from station to station through multiple zones by way of multi-position "diverters." Twenty-nine blowers provide the pressure to move samples and medications from one stop to the next, and each station is designed to allow the carrier to land softly on a cushion of air. Despite such complicated design, chief engineer Leander Robinson claims that no carrier has ever gotten stuck en route. 

Obscura Day location: April 9, 2011.

Related Tags

Pneumatic Tubes Inventions Instruments Of Science Retro Tech Obscura Day Locations

Know Before You Go

Stanford Hospital & Clinics is located on the campus of Stanford University, about 20 miles north of San Jose and 40 miles south of San Francisco.

Community Contributors

Added By

littlebrumble

Edited By

sixtycg

  • sixtycg

Published

March 14, 2011

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • Stanford School of Medicine: "Gone With the Wind: Tubes Are Whisking Samples Across Hospital" (January 2011): http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2010/january/tubes-0111.html###.html
  • medGadget: "Stanford Hospital's Pneumatic Tube Messaging System" (February 2010): http://medgadget.com/archives/2010/02/stanford_hospitals_pneumatic_tube_messaging_system.html
Pneumatic Tube System at Stanford University Hospital
Stanford University Hospital Center
300 Pasteur Drive
Palo Alto, California, 94304
United States
37.433868, -122.176136
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Arizona Cactus Garden

Palo Alto, California

miles away

Gates of Hell Sculpture

Palo Alto, California

miles away

Stanford Mausoleum

Palo Alto, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Palo Alto

Palo Alto

California

Places 10

Nearby Places

Arizona Cactus Garden

Palo Alto, California

miles away

Gates of Hell Sculpture

Palo Alto, California

miles away

Stanford Mausoleum

Palo Alto, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Palo Alto

Palo Alto

California

Places 10

Related Stories and Lists

10 Post Offices Worth Writing Home About

List

By Isaac Schultz

Society Adventures: Exploring Stanford Hospital's Pneumatic Tube System

society adventures

By Annetta Black

Obscura Day 2011: One For the History Books

obscura day

By Annetta Black

Related Places

  • London, England

    Clock of the Long Now: Prototype 1

    A clock designed to run with perfect accuracy for 10,000 years.

  • Korolyov, Russia

    RKK Energiya Museum

    This iconic Russian space museum sits on a landmark space production facility and houses the Vostok 1, the first manned spacecraft, that was also built here.

  • Dover, Delaware

    Johnson Victrola Museum

    Museum houses an impressive display of the origin and artistry from the now-quaint invention's history.

  • Known as a “Zip Tube” this carries the book requests down to the stacks many floors below.

    New York, New York

    Pneumatic System of the New York Public Library

    One of the last few places in Manhattan that employed a pneumatic systemic keeps it on display.

  • The monument overlooks the potomac river, where the first steamboat sailed

    Shepherdstown, West Virginia

    Birthplace of the Steamboat

    A monument marks the location of the first successful steamboat demonstration.

  • Automotive Crank

    Cambridge, Massachusetts

    MIT Edgerton Center

    MIT students continue the legacy of beloved professor "Doc" Edgerton through learning by doing.

  • Junction City, Kansas

    Atomic Annie

    A cannon designed to fire an atomic warhead.

  • Carson, California

    International Printing Museum

    One of the best collections of antique printing machinery in the world.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.