It’s too bad I just found out about this (since the opening has already taken place), but I’m sure you’ll still be pleased to learn about an exhibition of objects and photographs from Worcester State Hospital which is currently on display at the Aldrich Heritage Gallery in Whitinsville, Mass. The exhibit will be shown until July 29th. Hours are 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday—which is tough luck for those that work 9-to-5, but what can you do? It’s free and open to the public, so if you don’t work during the day or can get the time off, check it out. Please report back here if you do! Thanks.
According to a blog post on the Massachusetts Health and Human Service Division’s website, the exhibit is a dry run for a display inside the new WSH hospital building. The final display will reportedly incorporate items from other Massachusetts psychiatric hospital campuses as well.
“When plans for the new hospital were finalized several years ago, a group of hospital and DMH staff, consumers, hospital board members and other stakeholders who are passionate about history and the historic nature of Massachusetts hospitals got together and began the work of collecting, archiving and cataloguing the innumerable historic artifacts of WSH and the Department’s other campuses. This project has evolved over the past several years and reflects current efforts to preserve the legacy of DMH and the history of psychiatric care in the Commonwealth. Plans are developing for many of these artifacts and the story they tell to be on display in the new hospital when it opens next year. In the meantime, DMH will be able to do a “dry run” of what this display might look like.”
To celebrate National Preservation Month (this year’s theme is “Celebrating America’s Treasures”), there will be a meeting at the M State campus in Fergus Falls on Tuesday, May 24th. It starts at 6:00 PM in Legacy Hall. The event is sponsored by The Fergus Falls Heritage Preservation Commission and Friends of the Kirkbride. It is free and open to the public.
Part of the meeting will be devoted to the importance of saving and restoring historic buildings in general, and what others have done to restore and reuse historic structures. There will also be some discussion of the Fergus Falls Kirkbride building‘s historic significance. Among the scheduled speakers is Ray Minervini, the man who breathed new life into the Kirkbride building in Traverse City, Michigan.
Also worth noting is that the city of Fergus Falls has proposed a phased demolition of the former RTC property. Under the plan some newer additions to the main building, as well as some older separate structures, and the tunnels beneath the Kirkbride could be demolished as early as Summer 2012. The areas in question are marked in bright yellow in the image above. The city has also proposed breaking the property into smaller pieces so that developers interested in reusing only a portion of the Kirkbride (a single wing for example) may make proposals to do so. According to an article in the Fergus Falls Journal, “Parts of the Kirkbride that were not picked up by developers could tentatively then be torn down late in the 2012 construction season and into 2013.” Read the article here: City Gives Kirkbride One Last Chance.
I thought it worth noting that a reader recently commented on my previous post about the Electric Pencil and provided a link to an article revealing the artist’s identity: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. The piece also mentions that there will be a second edition of the Electric Pencil book.
A new developer is interested in saving the Kirkbride building in Fergus Falls: Global Athlete Village. GAV, a “Minnesota-based non-profit group dedicated to encouraging humanitarian and community service efforts by young athletes”, has expressed interest in using the property as a training center for mobilizing student athletes on humanitarian projects. You can read all about it in this Fergus Falls Journal article: RTC Finds a New Potential Developer. GAV’s vision seems to involve being a sort of “keystone developer” that would be complimented by several smaller, like-minded humanitarian groups all sharing the Kirkbride.
While I wish them all the luck in the world and think it would be fantastic for the Kirkbride to continue on as a home to humanitarian service, I have to admit I’m a bit skeptical of GAV’s plan. They’re a relatively young organization and will need to come up with some pretty significant funding to do what they want to do. I really hope this isn’t another idealistic dream that never materializes, like the Chinese immersion school. Hopefully they’ll prove my skepticism wrong.
I’ve been bad about keeping up with the blog and site in general lately, but even though this is oldish news, it’s worth noting that even though the Kirkbride building at Fergus is still standing, it’s in danger of being demolished. An article in the Fergus Falls Journal last month provides some details: New RTC Plan Could Demolish Part of Kirkbride.
I’ve seen a fair amount of artwork created by state hospital patients over the years, but nothing quite like the collection of folk art attributed to the anonymous Electric Pencil. In the early years of the 20th century, the Electric Pencil was at the Nevada State Hospital where he (or she) created hundreds of pictures. For his canvas, the artist utilized unused pieces of outdated hospital ledger paper. With pencil and crayon, he would cover both sides of each sheet with people, buildings, automobiles, trains, boats, animals and landscapes. The artwork is “primitive” but remarkable for its detail, unique subtleties (note for example the people’s eyes in the portraits) and sheer volume.
Although the entire collection of 283 drawings was carefully collected and sewn into a leather album at some point, it was almost lost forever. A fourteen year old boy happened to find the album in a trash heap and rescued it from oblivion in 1970. A new book reproducing the entire collection is now available from this website: Electric Pencil Drawings.
The only disappointing thing about the collection is that it doesn’t appear to contain any renderings of the Nevada Kirkbride building. There are however several images which leave little doubt that these drawings were made at the hospital. It’s really too bad that the artist didn’t attempt to reproduce the Kirkbride on paper. I’m sure he would have created a pretty compelling likeness of the structure.
The gentleman who runs the website where I learned about all this has informed me that he may have just recently gotten in touch with one of the Electric Pencil’s relatives. I hope so. It would be good to be able to put a name and history to this body of work. Watch the website for updates on this story.
Maine’s WCSH reports that the National Alliance On Mental Illness is recommending that the Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center in Bangor be closed. Read the article here: Advocate for Mentally Ill Recommends Closing Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center. I don’t think this means that the hospital is in any imminent danger of closing, but thought it worth noting — if only to see the continuing debate about hospital versus community care in action.
Just a few days ago the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s magazine Preservation published an article focused on Broughton State Hospital: Mind Over Matter: How Historic Asylums Are Faring. North Carolina is planning to build a new $138 million building for the hospital. A few of the older buildings will be demolished, while the Kirkbride there — also known as the Avery Building — will be left empty. Preservationists are worried that neglect of the structure will lead to its ultimate demise. I’d say their fears are well founded given the history of abandoned Kirkbrides.
Note that clicking on the photos accompanying the article takes you to larger versions. Although most of the photos aren’t of the Kirkbride, they’re still worth a peek. I particularly like the old greenhouse.
Just thought it was worth noting that the former Fergus Falls State Hospital campus is being offered for sale on Craigslist: $1 Historic Fergus Falls State Hospital. Alhough I have a hard time believing its fair market value (as the ad states), $1 is quite a bargain. It’s too bad “a plan for development and proof of private development capital is also required.”
I don’t know much about this yet, but I’ll post more information as I find it. If anyone has anything to share about this please comment. Even if a lot of damage was done, I think there’s a good chance the government will restore the building since it’s going to be part of the new DHS headquarters. Let’s hope so anyway.
Update: There are photos and some video about this available here: Firefighters Respond to Two Alarm Fire at Saint Elizabeths Hospital. The photos show a pretty limited fire on the roof of the admin tower. Judging from those I’d say the fire wasn’t too bad and was probably contained and controlled by the firefighters before too much damage could be done. We’ll have to wait till more information comes in to be sure.
Here’s a message from the General Services Administration: “As has been widely reported, the cause of the fire is thought to be lightning. The fire was contained to the roof and level 5 directly below the roof which was approximately 24 feet by 25 feet, with minimal subsequent water damage. Emergency response was swift and effective. The building has been assessed for emergency stabilization and repairs, and weatherization measures have begun. This incident will not impact the ongoing design development for the rehabilitation and reuse of the Center Building.”
I’ve seen a fair amount of artwork created by state hospital patients over the years, but nothing quite like the collection of folk art attributed to the anonymous 
