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

Fergus Falls City Council Calls for Demolition Plans
08 May 2012 -- At the May 7th Fergus Falls City Council meeting, the council voted unanimously in favor of drawing up demolition plans for most of the city’s beautiful, 100+ year-old Kirkbride building. The central administration section will probably be preserved, but the wings will be destroyed under the proposed plan... read more

Save the Fergus Falls Kirkbride
05 May 2012 -- There’s been a flurry of activity regarding Fergus Falls lately. If you haven’t heard, things aren’t looking for preservation... read more

For Sale: Hudson River State Hospital
28 Apr 2012 -- They finally went and did it. The organization behind the proposed mixed-use redevelopment of the former  Hudson River State Hospital campus has put the property, along with its magnificently sprawling Kirkbride building, on the real estate market... read more

Asylum on the Hill - New Book on Athens State Hospital
20 Mar 2012 -- There’s a new book about Athens State Hospital coming out. On Friday, March 30th from 5:00-7:00PM Ohio University Press is hosting a free public event at The Kennedy Museum of Art to celebrate the release of Asylum on the Hill by Katherine Ziff... read more

Worcester State Hospital Fire DVD
13 Mar 2012 -- A DVD of the Worcester State Hospital fire is now available for purchase. You can learn more about it and buy it at D.M... read more

Recent Updates

Prints of Kirkbride buildings are now available.

Added a Saint Elizabeths Hospital page.

Added an Harrisburg State Hospital page.

Added chapters 51-60 to Kirkbride's book.

Added a Cherokee State Hospital page.

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.