The Kirkbride Plan refers to a system of mental asylum design advocated by Philadelphia psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride in the mid-1800s. A psychiatric hospital (also called a mental hospital or asylum) is a hospital specializing in the treatment of persons with mental illness. ... Thomas Story Kirkbride was born July 31, 1809 in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. ...

The establishment of state mental hospitals in the U.S. is partly due to reformer Dorothea Dix, who vividly testified to the New Jersey legislature in 1844, describing the state's treatment of people with mental illness: they were being housed in county jails, private homes and the basements of public buildings. Dix's effort led to the construction of the New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum, the first asylum built on the Kirkbride Plan. A psychiatric hospital (also called a mental hospital or asylum) is a hospital specializing in the treatment of persons with mental illness. ... Dorothea Dix Dorothea Lynde Dix (April 4, 1802 – July 17, 1887) was a social activist who, from the early 1840s to well after the American Civil War lobbied almost every States legislature to create asylums for the insane. ... Official language(s) None, 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. ...

Kirkbride developed his requirements based on a philosophy of Moral Treatment. The typical floor plan, with long rambling wings arranged "en echelon" (staggered, so each connected building still received sunlight and fresh air), was meant to promote privacy and comfort for patients. The building form itself was meant to have a curative effect, meant as "a special apparatus for the care of lunacy," and Kirkbride wrote that their grounds should be "highly improved and tastefully ornamented."

These asylums tended to become large, imposing, Victorian-era government projects with their surrounding grounds. While the vast majority were located in the United States, there were also some in Canada, and also a hospital in Australia that was influenced by Dr. Kirkbride's recommendations. By 1900 the notion of "building-as-cure" was largely discredited, and in the following decades these facilities became too expensive to maintain. Many Kirkbride Plan asylums still stand, abandoned, neglected, and vandalized, though several are still in use or have been renovated for re-use. Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Ascension to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian Era of Great Britain marked the height of the British industrial revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ... Vandalism is the conspicuous defacement or destruction of a structure, a symbol or anything else that goes against the will of the owner/governing body. ...

Historic Print of Main Building of Elgin State Hospital, which was demolished in 1999.

Examples include: Image File history File links ElginStateHosp. ... Image File history File links ElginStateHosp. ... only hoes live in elgin == [[Image: == [[[[[[[[[Image:Example. ...

• 1845 New Jersey State Hospital at Trenton, New Jersey, the first Kirkbride Plan building
• 1848 Jacksonville State Hospital at Jacksonville, Illinois
• 1854 State Lunatic Hospital at Taunton, Massachusetts
• 1858 Northampton State Lunatic Hospital, Northampton, Massachusetts
• 1860 The Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital (also known as the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane Department for Males) Philadelphia
• 1861 Bryce State Mental Hospital, Tuscaloosa, Alabama (still in use)
• 1862 Western Pennsylvania Asylum for the Insane (also known as Dixmont State Hospital) at Kilbuck, Pennsylvania (demolished in late 2005)
• 1863 West Virginia Hospital for the Insane, Weston, West Virginia
• 1867 Boston State Hospital for the Insane (Proposed), Boston, Massachusetts
• 1868 Hudson River State Hospital for the Insane, Poughkeepsie, New York
• 1872 Northern Illinois State Mental Hospital, Elgin, Illinois (later known as Elgin State Hospital, demolished in 1999)^{[1] [2]}
• 1874 Athens Lunatic Asylum, Athens, Ohio
• 1876 Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, Hanover, New Jersey
• 1877 Worcester State Hospital, Worcester, Massachusetts
• 1878 Danvers State Hospital, Danvers, Massachusetts
• 1885 Northern Michigan Asylum for the Insane, Traverse City, Michigan
• 1891 Sheppard Pratt Hospital, Towson, Maryland (still in use)
• 1895 Buffalo State Hospital, Buffalo, New York (designed by H.H. Richardson)
• 1906 Fergus Falls State Hospital, Fergus Falls, Minnesota

The New Jersey State Hospital at Trenton is a state run mental hospital located in Trenton, New Jersey Founded by Dorothea Lynde Dix The Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, (originally named the New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum) the first public mental hospital in the state of New Jersey opened on May 15... Nickname: Trent Location of Trenton inside of Mercer County Coordinates: Country United States State New Jersey County Mercer County Founded circa 1719 Mayor Douglas H. Palmer Area    - City 21. ... Jacksonville is a city located in Morgan County, Illinois. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Northampton is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts in the USA. The population was 28,978 at the 2000 census. ... The Pennsylvania Hospital by William Strickland (1755) Pennsylvania Hospital is the first hospital in the United States. ... Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Quaker City Motto: Philadelphia maneto - Let brotherly love continue Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Mayor John F. Street (D) Area    - City 369. ... Front of Bryce State Mental Hospital Bryce State Mental Hospital opened in 1861 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA, and is Alabamas oldest and largest inpatient psychiatric facility. ... Tuscaloosa is a city in west central Alabama in the southern United States. ... Weston is a city located in Lewis County, West Virginia. ... Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub of the Universe (The State House, according to Oliver Wendell Holmes, is the hub of the Solar System), Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution Location in Massachusetts Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area    - City 232. ... Poughkeepsie City of Poughkeepsie Town of Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie, Arkansas This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... only hoes live in elgin == [[Image: == [[[[[[[[[Image:Example. ... The Athens Lunatic Asylum began operation in 1874 in Athens, Ohio. ... Athens is a small, historic college town located in Athens County, in southeastern Ohio, USA, on the Hocking River. ... 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 Hanover Township, New Jersey. ... Hanover Township is a township located in Morris County, New Jersey. ... Nickname: The Heart of the Commonwealth, The City of the Seven Hills, Wormtown, Woo-town, Wortown (war-town), The City of Diners, Paris of the Eighties Settled: 1673 â€“ Incorporated: 1684 Zip Code(s): 01608 â€“ Area Code(s): 508 / 774 Official website: http://www. ... Danvers State Hospital, circa 1893. ... Seal of Danvers, MA Danvers, a town located in Essex County, Massachusetts was formerly named Salem Village. ... Historic postcard of Building 50, circa 1930 The Traverse City State Hospital of Traverse City, Michigan has been variously known as Northern Michigan Asylum and Traverse City Regional Psychiatric Hospital. ... Traverse City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. ... The Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital is a mental hospital located in the north Baltimore, Maryland suburb of Towson. ... Towson is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place located in Baltimore County, Maryland. ... Nickname: City of Good Neighbors Location of Buffalo in New York State County Erie County Mayor Byron Brown Area    - City 136. ... The Trinity Church in Boston is one of Richardsons most famous works. ... Fergus Falls is a city in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. ...

External links

• Historic Asylums — information, history, photographs
• Kirkbride Buildings — information, history, photographs
• Dixmont State Hospital — information, history, photographs
• Northampton State Hospital — memorial project, information, history, photographs
• Asylum Projects — information, history, photographs
• Hudson River State Hospital — information, history, photographs
• Boston State Hospital — information, history, photographs
• Photographs of Northampton State Hospital
• http://www.forgottenphotography.com

1. ^ http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/420.html Retrieved Sept. 22, 2006
2. ^ Briska, William (1997). The History of Elgin Mental Health Center: Evolution of a State Hospital. Crossroads Communications. ISBN 0-9164-4545-3.