Northampton State Hospital
In 1855, the Massachusetts legislature approved the building of a new asylum in the western part of the state as a measure to improve conditions of its asylum system. The original hospital building, built on the Kirkbride model in an Elizabethan style, was completed in 1858 and opened as the Northampton State Lunatic Hospital. Pliny Earle, a contemporary of Thomas Kirkbride and fellow founding member of AMSAII, served as superintendent at Northampton in it's early years.
Several additions were constructed during the lifetime of the hospital and give the Kirkbride structure a somewhat confused and rambling character. This is most evident in the rear of the building. Other free-standing buildings of significant size were built later and the patient population eventually exceeded 2000 in the middle of the twentieth-century. The entire hospital was closed and abandoned in 1993.
The Northampton Kirkbride, often referred to as Old Main, was recently demolished completely. Some other buildings on the hospital campus were renovated and put to new use as apartments, but the Kirkbride is no more.
Other names for this hospital:
- Northampton State Lunatic Hospital
Forum Topics
Read more about Northampton State Hospital in the forum.
- McMenamins And NSH
- There's another article by Mark Roessler in the The Valley Advocate...
- Radio Show On Kollmorgen Deal
- WXOJ-LP, 103.3 FM, Northampton, Valley Free RadioCommunity Radio Hour, hosted by Mary SerrezeInterview with Mark Roessler and Mike Kirby, independent journalists, on the...
- Life Moves On At Hospital... I Mean Village Hill
- Kollmorgan, manufacturer of optical equipment and a big employer in Northampton evidently, is very likely going to be building a 150,000 square foot building and 450 space parking...
Blog Posts
- Nor'East Architectural Antiques Fire
- I just heard this from a friend: on June 3rd, Nor-East Architectural Antiques burned to the ground. Nor'East was the company that won salvage rights to Danvers State Hospital as...
- What's in a Name
- Former Northampton State Hospital preservation advocate Mark Roessler writes about the renaming of Hospital Hill in this Valley Advocate article: What's in a Name? It's a...
- Opposing Viewpoints: The Demolition of Old Main
- The demolition of Old Main is discussed with both Jack Hornor (Citizens Advisory Committee member) and Mark Roessler (Save Old Main preservation advocate) in the podcast...
