Once state-of-the-art mental healthcare facilities, Kirkbride buildings have long been relics of an obsolete therapeutic method known as Moral Treatment. In the latter half of the 19th century, these massive structures were conceived as ideal sanctuaries for the mentally ill and as an active participent in their recovery. Careful attention was given to every detail of their design to promote a healthy environment and convey a sense of respectable decorum. Placed in secluded areas within expansive grounds, many of these insane asylums seemed almost palace-like from the outside. But growing populations and insufficient funding led to unfortunate conditions, spoiling their idealistic promise.

Within decades of their first conception, new treatment methods and hospital design concepts emerged and the Kirkbride plan was eventually discarded. Many existing Kirkbride buildings maintained a central place in the institutions which began within their walls, but by the end of the 20th century most had been completely abandoned or demolished. A few have managed to survive into the 21st century intact and still in use, but many that survive sit abandoned and decaying—their mysterious grandeur intensified by their derelict condition. More...

Dr. Kirkbride

Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride was a founding member of the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane (AMSAII)—forerunner of the American Psychiatric Association—serving first as secretary, then later as president. Through this association and in his writings, Kirkbride promoted a standardized method of asylum construction and mental health treatment, popularly known as the Kirkbride Plan, which significantly influenced the entire American asylum community during his lifetime. More...

Latest Blog Entries

The Lost Kirkbrides: Brooklyn State Hospital
08 Feb 2010 -- Kirkbride connoisseur Ian Ference has put another notch in his found-a-kirkbride-building-no-one-knew-about belt. What’s especially exciting is that, just like the last lost Kirkbride he discovered, this Kirkbride was located in New York City — in Brooklyn to be exact... read more

Warren State Hospital Tour
02 Feb 2010 -- Forum member Jenca mentioned there’s going to be an historic walking tour of the Warren State Hospital grounds this Spring. It’ll take place on Wednesday, April 14th from 1PM to 3PM. The tour is offered by the Warren Forest Higher Education Council and is open to the public... read more

Worcester State Hospital Architect
08 Jan 2010 -- Even though I’ve read in several sources that Ward P. Delano designed the Worcester State Hospital Kirkbride, today I learned that is untrue... read more

Bryce Sale Approved
04 Jan 2010 -- Just before 2009 ended, Alabama’s board of mental health approved the sale of the Bryce Hospital campus to the University of Alabama. The university will pay $60 million for the property and Bryce Hospital will move to a new location within Tuscaloosa... read more

Recent Updates

11 Aug 2009 - Prints of Kirkbride buildings are now available.

08 Mar 2009 - Added a Saint Elizabeths Hospital Page.

27 October 2008 - Added an Harrisburg State Hospital Page.

17 June 2008 - Added chapters 51-60 to Kirkbride's book.

19 May 2008 - Added a Cherokee State Hospital Page.

30 Apr 2008 - Expanded the Weston State Hospital Gallery.

Please note that in some instances these buildings are off-limits to the general public and permission must be obtained if you wish to access the property and/or take photographs.