Hudson River State Hospital (Poughkeepsie, New York)
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Hudson River State Hospital
Main Building |
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Hospital in 2012
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| Location | Town of Poughkeepsie, NY |
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| Nearest city | Poughkeepsie |
| Coordinates | 41°43′59″N 73°55′41″W / 41.73306°N 73.92806°WCoordinates: 41°43′59″N 73°55′41″W / 41.73306°N 73.92806°W |
| Area | 296 acres (120 ha) |
| Built | 1868-1871 |
| Architect | Frederick Clarke Withers, Calvert Vaux, and Frederick Law Olmsted |
| Architectural style | High Victorian Gothic |
| NRHP reference # | 89001166 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 29, 1989 |
| Designated NHL | June 30, 1989 |
The Hudson River State Hospital, is a former New York state psychiatric hospital which operated from 1873 until its closure in the early 2000s. The campus is notable for its main building, known as a "Kirkbride," which has been designated a National Historic Landmark due to its exemplary High Victorian Gothic architecture, the first use of that style for an American institutional building. It is located on US 9 on the Poughkeepsie-Hyde Park town line.
Frederick Clarke Withers designed the hospital's buildings in 1867. Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted designed the grounds. It was intended to be completed quickly, but went far over its original schedule and budget. The hospital opened on October 18, 1871 as the Hudson River State Hospital for the Insane and admitted its first 40 patients. Construction, however, was far from over and would continue for another 25 years. A century later, it was slowly closed down as psychiatric treatment had changed enough that large hospitals were no longer needed, and its services had been served by the nearby Hudson River Psychiatric Center until that facility's closure in January 2012.
The campus was closed and abandoned in 2003 and since then has fallen into a state of disrepair. Authorities struggle with the risk of arson and vandals after suspicion of an intentionally set fire. The male bedding ward, south of the main building, was critically damaged in a 2007 fire caused by lightning. The property was sold to an unnamed buyer in November 2013.
The Hospital includes a number of unique buildings:
The entire facility was built over the last three decades of the 19th century, at great cost. Once complete, it would be used as intended for much of the first half of the next century. As psychiatry moved away from inpatient treatments, it began to decline in use until its closure at century's end. Today, it is slowly deteriorating out of public view as it awaits reuse.
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