March 3rd, 2008
The Lost Kirkbrides: Mendocino State Hospital
Looking through my “archives”, I came across this image. It’s an architect’s drawing for the planned Mendocino State Asylum for the Insane. I’m not sure if this exact building was ever constructed though. There was a Mendocino State Hospital—it was built in Talmage, California and opened in 1893. Its main building was demolished in 1952.
The best images I’ve found on the web show a building similar to the one above, but without the segmented wings and a radically different admin. It’s hard to tell if the building plan was changed, the existing building was modified, or if images like the ones below are of an entirely different structure.
1) Image: Mendocino State Hospital
2) Image: Mendocino State Hospital
My guess is that the plan was changed before it was built, but I really don’t know. If anyone has any information on this, please comment. Or if you’re a Kirkbride enthusiast living in California, maybe check out the collection of 217 photos from Mendocino mentioned here. They might shed some light on this mystery and are probably worth looking at anyway.
Mendocino State Hospital, originally the Mendocino State Asylum for the Insane, was established in 1889 (Statutes 1889, Ch. 23). By that law the Governor was authorized to appoint a board of directors of five members for a term of four years to select the site and to manage the institution.
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf2c6001q2/
Structures like that no longer exists. But all the original buildings still exists. Nothing was really torn down. All buildings are just reused and re-purposed for other uses. Currently that place is just a Buddhist Temple. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Ten_Thousand_Buddhas