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. 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
10 Mar 2013 -- Christian VanAntwerpen had an idea recently to photograph “every inch” of the Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Kirkbride for posterity, and is now working to make his idea a reality. Christian has gathered a group of about forty photographers and cinematographers who plan to photograph the entire building together this year... read more
Abandoned Asylums of New England
28 Feb 2013 -- John Gray is publishing a new edition of his Abandoned Asylums of New England photography book. The original version was self-published and came out a little over ten years ago... read more
Help Save the Athens Kirkbride
13 Feb 2013 -- Please help the Athens County Historical Society and Museum save the Athens Kirkbride by signing this online petition. Ohio University (current owner of the former Athens State Hospital site now known as The Ridges) is set to tear down an historic building at the site next month... read more
Hudson River Cameo in New Soundgarden Video
21 Jan 2013 -- A friend of mine recently posted photos from a Soundgarden show on Instagram. She was excited to see photos of the Hudson River State Hospital Kirkbride appear on the screen behind the band while they played their new song Been Away Too Long... read more
Colliers International’s Fergus Falls Website
02 Oct 2012 -- Colliers International has launched a website as part of their campaign to find a developer for the Fergus Falls Kirkbride: Historic Campus Opportunity. It’ll be interesting to see if Colliers is successful... read more
The Danvers Room
17 Aug 2012 -- The New York Times published an article Tuesday about John Archer’s eclectic house in Danvers, Massachusetts: Scrap Mansion. For those who don’t know, John Archer probably did more than anyone to try keeping the Danvers State Hospital Kirkbride intact... read more
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.
- Athens State Hospital
Architect: Levi T. Scofield
Location: Athens, Ohio
- Buffalo State Hospital
Architect: Henry Hobson Richardson
Location: Buffalo, New York
- Cherokee State Hospital
Architect: Henry F. Liebbe
Location: Cherokee, Iowa
- Clarinda State Hospital
Architect: Foster & Liebbe
Location: Clarinda, Iowa
- Danvers State Hospital
Architect: Nathaniel J. Bradlee
Location: Danvers, Massachusetts
- Dixmont State Hospital
Architect: J.R. Kerr
Location: Dixmont Township, Pennsylvania
- Fergus Falls State Hospital
Architect: Warren Dunnell
Location: Fergus Falls, Minnesota
- Greystone Park State Hospital
Architect: Samuel Sloan
Location: Morristown, New Jersey
- Hudson River State Hospital
Architect: Frederick Clarke Withers
Location: Poughkeepsie, New York
- Independence State Hospital
Architect: Stephen Vaughn Shipman
Location: Independence, Iowa
- Northampton State Hospital
Architect: Jonathan Preston
Location: Northampton, Massachusetts
- Saint Elizabeths Hospital
Architect: Thomas U. Walters
Location: Washington, DC
- Taunton State Hospital
Architect: Elbridge Boyden
Location: Taunton, Massachusetts
- Traverse City State Hospital
Architect: Gordon W. Lloyd
Location: Traverse City, Michigan
- Weston State Hospital
Architect: R. Snowden Andrews
Location: Weston, West Virginia
- Worcester State Hospital
Architect: George Dutton Rand
Location: Worcester, Massachusetts
- Photo Prints
Prints of selected Kirkbride photographs on this site are available for purchase in 8x10 and 11x14 formats.
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.