Kirkbride Buildings - Historic Insane Asylum Architecture

There’s finally a page for Clarinda State Hospital. I visited the place back in 2004…

2004… the days when I absolutely, positively NEEDED a camera that fit in my pocket. The days before I knew what a tripod was for, or had ever heard of things like bracketing. What I’m trying to say that most of the pictures are a bit iffy. Still, there are plenty of other pictures on this site from the same time period, and these Clarinda shots are the best from my Iowa excursion. Looking at some of them though I just can’t help feeling disappointed. Why didn’t I step back a few feet here? Why didn’t I turn two degrees to the right there? How did my @#%*! finger get in front of the lens? (more…)

The abandoned west campus at Saint Elizabeths is in the news again: Chertoff Revives Bid for New CG HQ, and GSA Seeks Funding Boost for DHS Headquarters Project.

Nothing too exciting, but it gives me an excuse to mention an article I came across recently: What’s Inside Box No. 1997.0015 OHA 293.23? It’s a little old, but if you haven’t read it, it’s worth taking a look at—especially for this amazing slideshow.

I thought this article looked funny: Owners Want Mud Bog at Weston Hospital.

To be fair, it sounds like the mud bog would be a good distance from the historic buildings, so it’s not as weird as it sounds. I just can’t get the picture of monster trucks spewing mud and crushing cars on the Kirkbride front lawn out of my head though…

My wife and I recently looked at an apartment in what used to be the Danvers Kirkbride. We originally thought we were going to be looking at a condo, but it turns out Avalon only rents the Kirkbride living spaces.

We were shown a model apartment on the first floor of the admin. It was actually reasonably nice for an apartment. The rooms were bright (because of those big Kirkbride windows). The kitchen had the essential granite counter tops, and a seemingly impossible amount of cabinet space. There were also two huge bathrooms you could dance the Tango in. While not exceptional, the construction didn’t seem particularly cheap either. We were told the apartments in what’s left of the Kirkbride are of a higher quality than the ones in the new buildings. (more, including interior photos…)

UPDATE: Regular reader Kirby sent me a link to this web site which proves the Kirkbride is a private retirement community. That means it’s not in danger of being abandoned. If I had taken the time, I would have found the same information in my own forum. That makes me feel pretty dumb:) Although that post is from two years ago… (more…)

There’s an article in The Birmingham News about a potential sale of Bryce Hospital. The adjoining University of Alabama is negotiating for the purchase of the property. Nothing’s definite yet, least of all the fate of the Kirkbride there, but there’s some worry that the building may be lost if the sale goes through. Hopefully preservation will win out, but unfortunately the odds aren’t in its favor if what’s happened to a few other Kirkbride buildings recently is anything to go by.

I added a Greystone Park page to the site. I’ve been sitting on pictures of the place for a few years now. They’ll be a bit of a yawn to those familiar with other asylum web sites (most notably John Gray’s fantastic Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital). But I think it’s important that the building be represented here, if only to stop the semi-regular emails I get telling me that I missed Greystone… (more…)

A little while back, someone from the Arkansas History Commission & State Archives informed me that there was once a Kirkbride at the state hospital in Little Rock. I had suspected that there was one there, but wasn’t sure until I got their email. The stunning building pictured above opened as the Arkansas Lunatic Asylum in 1883. Unfortunately, it was demolished in the 1960s. You can learn the asylum’s history at this web page which also includes a few more images. I’ve added Arkansas, and a few other lost Kirkbrides, to the list of demolished Kirkbrides.

Tours at Weston State Hospital are set to resume in March 2008. (more…)

Source: Google Maps

Above is Google’s Street View of Worcester State Hospital. Click on the image and drag your mouse around to explore it. You can see the Clocktower and other remaining pieces of the Kirkbride, as well as the rest of the hospital campus. (more…)