December 3rd, 2011
The Lost Kirkbrides: Mount Hope Retreat
I was happy to learn that Thomasp94 recently discovered a Kirkbride building not listed anywhere online: Mount Hope Retreat (Kirkbride?)
It certainly looks like a Kirkbride to me. This imposing edifice was the main building at Mount Hope Retreat in Baltimore, Maryland. Mount Hope was a private, Catholic institution founded by the Sisters of Charity in 1840. Construction of the Kirkbride, however, didn’t begin until 1859. It was designed by the architects Long & Powell.
The building is described in The Institutional Care of the Insane in the United States and Canada:
The hospital consists of a main building and four extensive wings. The former is five stories high, with an attic surmounted by a dome 160 feet from the ground, which affords a magnificent view of the city, the bay and the surrounding country. In the center or main building are located the reception rooms, the parlor, the billiard room, the Sisters’ apartments, chapel, special private rooms, the dormitories for patients and the sewing rooms. The wings are appropriated to the exclusive use of patients.
Too bad it was demolished some time in the 1970s or 80s. For more about the institution, read the short history covering its full life-span at MonumentalCity.net.
That’s really neat! Great post!
If you go out to historicaerials.com, there are 4 great aerial pics from 1957 to 1971. Some recent birdseye construction pics on Bing maps uncover some old buried walkways to the left of the old left wing. Looks like a maintenance building is all that is left of the complex.
Im a former resident of west Baltimore, and lived near the Hospital as a kid. My question is before they built N. Parkway, was all that land belong to Seton ( Mt. Hope ). Theres a small pond east of the Hospital ,back in the 60’s We ice skated on it , but there was a wall that surrounded it an also small bridges in the woods and fenced in cages.Is there any photos of these areas . please write back , tks