Kirkbride Buildings - Historic Insane Asylum Architecture

The Bryce Hospital Kirkbride will likely become home to a museum once the University of Alabama takes control of the building. You can read about it in the university’s student-run newspaper, The Crimson White: UA Releases New Campus Master Plan. Their article states:

“By terms of the purchase agreement between the Department of Mental Health and the University of Alabama, there is going to be a mental health museum located in the Bryce Hospital building,” [said Darrell Meyer of KPS Group, the architectural firm helping UA with the campus master plan]. “We realized that we don’t have a University history museum. I think we really need one of those.”

In addition to building a University history museum, Meyer also spoke of plans for museums for mental health, natural history, Jones art collection, and special collections.

It’s not very clear the way it’s written, but I’m pretty certain the mental health museum is a sure thing, and the university history and other museums are just possibilities. Hopefully though, the prospect of several museums means it’s more likely the entire building will be preserved. It’d be great to have another fully intact Kirkbride that’s accessible to the general public.

UPDATE: This article: Bryce May Become Cultural Arts Center, adds that the Kirkbride would also house spaces for the performing arts as well as for a museum or museums.

As I may have mentioned before, one of the reasons I don’t blog much anymore is because so often the fate of abandoned Kirkbride buildings is murky for years on end. I’m tired of trying to think up new ways to say “whether the building will be saved is unclear, but things sound hopeful…” Regardless, I thought it worth noting that New Jersey’s Governor Christie has announced a $27 million plan to clean up the former Greystone Park State Hospital site. The plan calls for demolition of many buildings, but also “calls for determining the feasibility of redeveloping the historic Kirkbride Building” according to an article by New Jersey News Room: Gov. Christie Announces Greystone Psychiatric Hospital Demolition for Open Space.

I’m sure $27 million — even if it was entirely for the Kirkbride — won’t go very far in breathing new life into the Greystone Kirkbride. Most of the money will go toward demolishing other buildings and converting the property into open space parkland. But at least wheels are turning in regards to the Kirkbride’s preservation. Hopefully the feasibility study isn’t just a token gesture. It would be great if the building could remain as a point of architectural interest within all that open space. It’d be even better if it could be restored to its former grandeur, but that’s very unlikely I’m sure.

Thought I’d also mention a minor bit of trivia I learned while reading about this: according to an Associated Press article, President Ulysses S. Grant spoke at the opening of Greystone Park.

Every year around Halloween there are stories in the papers about old asylums. And I always find myself grimacing over the inevitable few that invoke the supernatural. Although I can sort of understand the desire to connect asylums to paranormal activity, I think actually doing so cheapens the real history of these places—especially when it’s done just to get something spooky out for Halloween. This year however, I was pleased to find this article: Former Fergus Falls State Hospital Source of Many Legends. It relates a few unusual (but obviously very real) occurrences at Fergus Falls State Hospital as told by Chris Schuelke, executive director of the Otter Tail County Historical Society.

Speaking of Fergus Falls, if you haven’t already, please join the Friends of the Kirkbride group on Facebook to get the latest news about the building and to show your support for its preservation.

Public tours of the Buffalo Kirkbride building have been scheduled for this fall! The one hour guided tours will take place on Saturday, October 15th; Sunday, October 16th; and Sunday, October 23rd. Email info@richardson-olmsted.com to make reservations and for payment and parking instructions.

I was lucky enough to take a semi-public tour of the Buffalo Kirkbride back in July. We were shown the basement and first floor of the admin, one floor each of two wing sections, plus a bit of the attic. I’m not sure, but from the description on the Richardson Center Corporation’s Facebook page, I gather that these upcoming tours will more or less cover the same area.

The interior is pretty much as impressive as you’d guess by looking at the exterior. I’m sure, like me, you’ve seen pictures of the inside before, but actually being in that space is something pictures can’t really prepare you for.  Most everything is on a massive scale and exudes a sort of robust energy, except for the main staircase in the admin curiously. It’s a really nice staircase, but it’s surprisingly modest compared to everything else. It was interesting too to see some of the interior preservation work the Richardson Center Corporation has been doing. It looked really good and in keeping with the building’s spirit. They still have a lot to do though.

Since taking the tour is a way to contribute to their preservation work, I really recommend it to any Kirkbride enthusiast who can make it to Buffalo in October. I’ll write a bit more about my own experience touring the Kirkbride on a later date, after I finally sit down and process all the pictures I took.

Things are looking bleak for the Worcester Kirkbride Clock Tower. Even though the structure avoided demolition when the state razed the rest of the building’s remains just three years ago, its days are now numbered. According to a post on the Save Worcester State Hospital Clock Tower Facebook page, Massachusetts is planning to demolish the building due to a lack of funds or interest in reusing it.

I encourage everyone interested in saving the Clock Tower to read the post, like the Save Worcester State Hospital Clock Tower Facebook page, and to share any thoughts you might have on the subject there.

This may be the shortest post in the history of this blog, but I thought it worth noting that there’s a new article containing more biographical information about the Electric Pencil: Mystery Artist from the Ozarks Identified. The article includes a photo of Edward Deeds. In case you missed it, here’s more information about the Electric Pencil (aka Edward Deeds) from the archives.

South Carolina’s state Budget and Control Board has approved the sale of the former Columbia State Hospital to developer Bob Hughes. You can read about it here: Board OKs Dept. of Mental Health’s Sale of Bull Street Property.

Redevelopment will take several years. There’s not much information on exactly what will be done with the property, and more importantly whether the historic buildings will be saved. The statement that the developer wants to create a “world-class residential and commercial neighborhood that respects the property’s special place in the city’s history” sounds promising, but is a little too vague to make me feel like the Kirkbride is safe from the wrecking ball.

This profile of Bob Hughes makes preservation sound like a possibility, but it certainly doesn’t say it’s a given: Bull Street Developer Led Greenville Revival.

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.”

From Historic DMH Showcase Commemorates Mental Health Awareness Month.

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.