 Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital postcard Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital (also known as Greystone Psychiatric Park, Greystone Psychiatric Hospital, or simply Greystone) refers to both the former psychiatric hospital and the historic building that it occupied in Parsippany-Troy Hills Township (formerly part of Hanover Township, New Jersey). A new facility is currently under construction on the large Greystone campus and will bear the same name as the aging facility. Image File history File links Greystone_Park1. ...
Image File history File links Greystone_Park1. ...
A psychiatric hospital (also called, at various places and times, mental hospital or mental ward), is a hospital specialising in the treatment of persons with mental illness. ...
Parsippany-Troy Hills Township is a Township located in Morris County, New Jersey. ...
Hanover Township is a township located in Morris County, New Jersey. ...
Official language(s) English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area Ranked 47th - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²) - Width 70 miles (110 km) - Length 150 miles (240 km) - % water 14. ...
History
Originally opened on August 17, 1876, the hospital was known as the New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum at Morristown. The asylum officially received the familiar Greystone Park name in 1924. The idea for such a facility was conceived in the early 1870s at the persistent lobbying of Dorothea Lynde Dix, a former school teacher who was an advocate for better healthcare for people with mental illnesses. Because of her efforts, the New Jersey Legislature appropriated $2.5 million dollars to obtain about 3.007 square kilometers (743 acres) of land for New Jersey’s second "lunatic asylum." Great care was taken to select a location central to the majority of New Jersey's population near Morristown, Parsippany, and Newark. The land Greystone was built on was purchased by the state in two installments between 1871 and 1872 for a total of $146,000. is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...
Dorothea Lynde Dix (April 4, 1802 – July 17, 1887) was an American activist on behalf of the indigent insane who, through a vigorous program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, created the first generation of American mental asylums. ...
The New Jersey Legislature convene at the State House building in Trenton. ...
Nickname: Military Capital of the Revolution Location of Morristown in Morris County (L); Location of Morris County in New Jersey (R) Coordinates: Country United States State New Jersey County Morris Founded 1715 Incorporated 1865 Mayor Donald Cresitello (D; term ends December 31, 2009. ...
Parsippany-Troy Hills Township is a Township located in Morris County, New Jersey. ...
Nickname: Map of Newark in Essex County County Essex Founded/Incorporated 1666/1836 Government - Mayor Cory Booker, term of office 2006–2010 Area [1] - City 67. ...
At this time in history, New Jersey's state-funded mental health facilities were exceedingly overcrowded and sub par compared to neighboring states that had more facilities and room to house patients. Greystone was built, all 62,589 m² (673,706 ft²) of it, in part to relieve the only -- and severely overcrowded -- "lunatic asylum" in the state, which was located in Trenton, New Jersey. In fact, Greystone's initial 292 patients were transferred from the Trenton facility to Greystone based on geographic distribution, setting precedent for Greystone to become the facility that would generally accept patients whose residences were in the northern part of the state. This proved to be the very reason why Greystone quickly became overcrowded in the heavily-populated North while the Trenton facility's number of patients remained relatively stable in the sparsely populated South. Location of Trenton inside of Mercer County Coordinates: Country United States State New Jersey County Mercer County Founded circa 1719 Government - Mayor Douglas H. Palmer Area - City 8. ...
Growing pains In just four years after Greystone opened, it was already accommodating around 800 patients in a facility designed for 600. By 1887, the exercise rooms and attic space were converted to dormitories to create extra rooms for the influx of new patients. In an attempt to relieve the further overcrowding, the Dormitory Building was built behind the Main Building in 1901. It, however, wasn't enough to ameliorate the problem and thus in the same year the dining rooms on each floor had to be converted into dormitories as well. 13 years later, in 1914, the facility housed 2,412 patients, but now had an absolute maximum capacity of 1,600.
The next few decades saw a flurry of construction as supply was scrambling to meet demand. Patient numbers are believed to have peaked in 1953 with an impressive 7,674 people packed into spaces designed for significantly fewer. An explanation for this dramatic increase can be found in the fact that World War II had ended and left many soldiers requiring treatment for Postwar Trauma, which included procedures such as Insulin shock therapy and Electroconvulsive therapy. Greystone was one of the few places in the country capable of treating such patients. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...
Insulin shock therapy is a treatment for schizophrenia, psychosis and drug addiction which involves injecting a patient with massive amounts of insulin, which causes convulsions and coma. ...
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also known as electroshock, is a controversial psychiatric treatment in which seizures are induced with electricity. ...
Modern day The 1970s and 1980s finally saw some weight lifted from this overcrowded facility because of the trend toward de-institutionalization, which was a direct effect of the use of Thorazine, one of the first drugs that was capable of treating the mentally ill. The trend continued to a point when Greystone was only a 550-bed facility when then Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman announced in 2000 that the state was going to close the facility by 2003. Some patients were slowly transferred to smaller-capacity programs, reducing the number of residential patients to approximately 450 in 2005. Then, on September 8, 2005, the New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority closed a $186,565,000 bond issue on behalf of the State of New Jersey Department of Human Services for the completion of a new, 43,000 m² (460,000 ft²) Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, which is scheduled to be open in October 2007, still with a shortage of about 75 beds. Chlorpromazine was the first antipsychotic drug, used during the 1950s and 1960s. ...
Jon Corzine 54th Governor of New Jersey; Incumbent Christine Christie Todd Whitman, the first female governor of New Jersey The Governor of New Jersey is the chief executive of the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...
Christine Todd Christie Whitman (born September 26, 1946) is an American Republican politician and author, who served as the 50th Governor of New Jersey and was the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration of President George W. Bush. ...
The decision to close Greystone in 2000 came about not only because of concerns for the aging buildings, but also due to the recent negative press it was receiving. Specifically, accounts of sexual assault in a hospital elevator, patients committing suicide, patients becoming pregnant, and a twice-convicted rapist escaping did not help Greystone's public image. The last patient left Greystone's Kirkbride building (the main building) in 1988 and, except for a tiny section preserved for administrative offices, the state shut off the heat, turned out the lights and walked away.
The current Greystone campus covers over a square mile and consists of 43 buildings.
The building and the Kirkbride Plan
The main building of Greyston Psychiatric Hospital in 2006 The original Second Empire Victorian style building was 62,589 m² (673,706 total square feet). At the base of this massive building was the alleged largest continuous foundation in the United States from the time it was built until it was surpassed by the Pentagon when it was constructed in 1943. However, many other Kirkbride asylum buildings (such as the Ohio State Asylum for the Insane) also lay a claim to this fame and it has not been verified which one is true. The building has a characteristic linear arrangement, which was designed to the specifications of the Kirkbride Plan. The main building has a center section that was used for administrative purposes with three wings radiating out from the center, each about 42.7 meters (140 feet) long. They were set back from the previous one so that patients could enjoy the beauty of the outside surroundings. This was a central concept, along with moral treatment, that was the hallmark of the Kirkbride Plan for treating the mentally ill. The building form itself was meant to promote treatment and have a curative effect. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 605 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I took this photo myself in the summer of 2006 I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 605 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I took this photo myself in the summer of 2006 I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or...
The canonical example of Second Empire style is the Opéra Garnier, in which Neo-Baroque meets Neo-Renaissance. ...
This article is about the United States military building. ...
The Kirkbride Plan refers to a system of mental asylum design advocated by Philadelphia psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride in the mid-1800s. ...
Each ward was initially set up to accommodate 20 patients. Each was furnished with a dining room, exercise room, and parlor. Most wards had wool rugs that ran the full length of the corridors. Other amenities included Victorian stuffed furniture, pianos, pictures, curtains and fresh flowers. Though not all wards were created equally. Wards that housed the most excitable patients were sparsely furnished -- presumably for their own safety -- with sturdy oak furniture.
Initial fees were $3.50 per week for a normal patient. For persons seeking private apartment-style living, the rent could be anywhere from $5.00 to $10.00 per week.
During the time that Greystone was built, the predominant philosophy in psychology was that the mentally ill could be cured or treated, but only if they were in an environment designed to deal with them. A major proponent of this philosophy was Thomas Story Kirkbride, who participated in the design phase of the main building at Greystone, though the two main designers were architect Samuel Sloan and Trenton State Asylum Superintendent Horace Buttolph (a friend of Kirkbride's). The building was constructed and furnished according to Kirkbride's philosophy, which proposed housing no more than 250 patients in a three story building. The rooms were to be light and airy with only two patients to a room. To reduce the likelihood of fires, Greystone and other Kirkbride asylums were constructed using stone, brick, slate and iron, using as little wood as possible. Thomas Story Kirkbride was born July 31, 1809 in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. ...
The Greystone campus itself was once a self-contained community that included staff housing, a post office, fire and police stations, a working farm, and vocational and recreational facilities. It also had its own gas and water utilities and a gneiss quarry, which was the source of the Greystone building material. Below the building, a series of tunnels and rails connect the many sections. Its self-sufficient design is a testament to the legacy of the asylums of its era. Like the layout and interior of the building, the Greystone grounds with rolling greens, lavish gardens, and fountain features were designed to aid in the treatment of the mentally ill. Gneiss Gneiss (IPA: ) is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from preexisting formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks. ...
Future
 The Curry building as it appeared in 2006. Now owned by Morris County, the decision has been made to demolish the historic structure after an inspection deemed it unrepairable. Until 2003, the future of most of the historic buildings was uncertain. Many of the buildings are vacant and need major repairs. Preservationists have been working for several years to guarantee the survival of this complex of buildings. Morris County had been negotiating with the State of New Jersey to take over vacant structures for non-profit agencies. In 2003, Morris County finalized plans to purchase about 300 acres of Greystone Park from the state for $1.00. The purchase included many of the vacant, dilapidated buildings. The county is exploring options for viable uses of the new county park and buildings. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 587 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Taken by myself summer 2006 I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 587 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Taken by myself summer 2006 I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the...
Ground was ceremonially broken on November 16, 2005, for the new psychiatric hospital on the Greystone campus. The expected date of opening is October 2007. The new hospital will be two-thirds the size of the Kirkbride building and will house about 450 patients, with another 100 patients living in hospital-run cottages on the grounds around the main building. November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 45 days remaining. ...
Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The remaining property, including the historic Kirkbride building, is being turned over to the state's treasurer in October 2007 as excess property and will be sold. Its future remains uncertain.
Interesting notes - One of the most famous patients at Greystone was Woody Guthrie, a folksinger/songwriter. During his stay from 1956 to 1961, Bob Dylan would often come visit. Woody suffered from Huntington's disease (HD), a genetic degenerative nervous disorder. He referred to it as "Gravestone". (Sceurman and Moran, 2004)
- Allegedly, from 1877 until the Pentagon was completed in the 1940s, the Kirkbride building at Greystone had the largest building foundation in the U.S. However, other Kirkbride buildings also claim to be the "largest under one roof" until the Pentagon was built and it is not known which one is accurate.
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (July 14, 1912–October 3, 1967) was a prolific American folk musician. ...
Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. ...
This article is about the United States military building. ...
See also List of hospitals in New Jersey (U.S. state), sorted by hospital name. ...
The Kirkbride Plan refers to a system of mental asylum design advocated by Philadelphia psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride in the mid-1800s. ...
Thomas Story Kirkbride was born July 31, 1809 in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. ...
References - Sceurman, Mark, and Moran, Mark. (2004) Weird N.J.: Your travel guide to New Jersey's local legends and best kept secrets. Barnes & Noble: New York, N.Y. ISBN 0-7607-3979-X
External links - John Kloepper's recent photos of the facility
- Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital - history
- Forgotten Photography - History and Photos
- Preservation NJ - 2003 article
- Daily Record article on the new hospital (11/16/2005)
- NJ Health Care Facilities Financing Authority press release (9/9/2005)
- Greystone slated to close NY Times
- Gov. Whitman announces Greystone closing (4/29/2000)
|
Feeds |
Contact