Kirkbride buildings were always something amazing.
​
DiamondJoeQuimbyJRsays
This was definitely haunted.
JS1827185119041925says
What happened to it?
mrsoojaysays
Question. Why aren’t buildings designed this way any more? Most are so flat and uninspiring. Is it simply cost?
MarieCakeAntoinettesays
I’ve only just seen it and i miss it already. What a gorgeous building.
NoFanOfTheColdsays
It was an incredible structure. I think it was quite grand and beautiful myself. And it was one of the most horrific institutions that ever existed. We had so little concept of how to treat mental illness in those days. Hell, it frankly doesn’t seem like we do much better today. But that place was barbaric.
>The Kirkbride Plan was a system of mental asylum design advocated by Philadelphia psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride (1809–1883) in the mid-19th century. The asylums built in the Kirkbride design, often referred to as Kirkbride Buildings, were constructed during the mid-to-late-19th century in the United States.
>The structural features of the hospitals as designated by Dr. Kirkbride were contingent on his theories regarding the healing of the mentally ill, in which environment and exposure to natural light and air circulation were crucial. The hospitals built according to the Kirkbride Plan would adopt various architectural styles,[1] but had in common the “bat wing” style floor plan, housing numerous wings that sprawl outward from the center.
>By the twentieth century, popularity of the design had waned, largely due to the economic pressures of maintaining the immense facilities, as well as contestation of Dr. Kirkbride’s theories amongst the medical community.
rostoffario says
Kirkbride buildings were always something amazing.
​
DiamondJoeQuimbyJR says
This was definitely haunted.
JS1827185119041925 says
What happened to it?
mrsoojay says
Question. Why aren’t buildings designed this way any more? Most are so flat and uninspiring. Is it simply cost?
MarieCakeAntoinette says
I’ve only just seen it and i miss it already. What a gorgeous building.
NoFanOfTheCold says
It was an incredible structure. I think it was quite grand and beautiful myself. And it was one of the most horrific institutions that ever existed. We had so little concept of how to treat mental illness in those days. Hell, it frankly doesn’t seem like we do much better today. But that place was barbaric.
nickgt1969 says
The landscaped grounds are….erm….bleak.
Kalibos says
[Further reading about Kirkbride buildings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirkbride_Plan)
>The Kirkbride Plan was a system of mental asylum design advocated by Philadelphia psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride (1809–1883) in the mid-19th century. The asylums built in the Kirkbride design, often referred to as Kirkbride Buildings, were constructed during the mid-to-late-19th century in the United States.
>The structural features of the hospitals as designated by Dr. Kirkbride were contingent on his theories regarding the healing of the mentally ill, in which environment and exposure to natural light and air circulation were crucial. The hospitals built according to the Kirkbride Plan would adopt various architectural styles,[1] but had in common the “bat wing” style floor plan, housing numerous wings that sprawl outward from the center.
>By the twentieth century, popularity of the design had waned, largely due to the economic pressures of maintaining the immense facilities, as well as contestation of Dr. Kirkbride’s theories amongst the medical community.
[Aaron Mahnke also did a great episode of his Lore podcast about asylums and the first Kirkbride building.](https://www.lorepodcast.com/episodes/6)