Worcester State Hospital
Hospital in Massachusetts, United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Worcester State Hospital was a Massachusetts state mental hospital located in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is credited to the architectural firm of Weston & Rand. The hospital and surrounding associated historic structures are listed as Worcester Asylum and related buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.[1]
Worcester State Hospital | |
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Massachusetts Department of Mental Health | |
Geography | |
Location | Worcester, Massachusetts, United States |
Organization | |
Type | Mental hospital |
Services | |
History | |
Opened | 1833 |
Closed | 2012 |
Links | |
Other links | |
Worcester Asylum and related buildings | |
Location | 305 Belmont St., Worcester, Massachusetts |
Coordinates | 42°16′43.2″N 71°46′9.5″W |
Built | 1870-1876 |
Architect | Weston & Rand; Et al. |
Architectural style | Gothic |
MPS | Worcester MRA |
NRHP reference No. | 80000530[1] |
Added to NRHP | March 05, 1980 |
It was once known as the Worcester Lunatic Asylum and the Bloomingdale Asylum. The hospital dates back to the 1830s. On January 12, 1833, the Worcester Insane Asylum opened. It was the first of its kind in the state. During the first year, 164 patients were received.
As the facility soon became overcrowded, superintendent Merrick Bemis called for the construction of a new asylum. A massive structure was to be laid out in the Kirkbride Plan and located on Belmont Street. Construction began in 1870 and the newly built Worcester State Hospital was completed in 1876 at the cost of well over a million dollars.
The wards were named after places in Massachusetts as well as numerous founders of the American Psychiatric Association, such as Howe, Appleton, Woodward, Gage, Hooper, Folsom, and Thayer.[2]