greystone park psychiatric hospital

The New-Jersey Lunatic Asylum

The Building at Morris Plains Nearly Finished- Larger Than the Capitol at Washington= Accomodations for 1,200 Inmates

March 31, 1875 - New York Times

The new State Lunatic Asylum in process of erection at Morris Plains, near Morristown, N.J., is one of the best appointed and most capacious institutions of the kind in the country. Located in a fine rolling country, of unusually beautiful scenic attractions, it is larger than the Capitol at Washington, and measure from the outside line of one extreme wing to the outside line of the wins at the other extreme, 1,276 ftt. Following the angles of the building, it is a walk of one and five-eighth miles around it.

Sixteen millions of bricks were used in erecting the inner walls, and 76,000 perches of stone are in its outer walls. The tract upon which it stands cover 1,408 acres, and takes in several small farms. The plans for the building were drawn by Architect Sloan, of Philadelphia, and Robert S. Johnson, of Trenton, is doing the mason work. The general style of architecture is gothic, and the ground plans describe a semi-circle. The stone of which it is constructed is similar in appearance, and equal, it is said, to the Qunicy granite, and was quarried on the grounds, and carried upon a gravity road to the site of the structure.

The main part of the building is three stories in height and capped with a mansard roof. The front centre section, which is ninety-six feet square, is four stories in height and also furnished with a mansard roof, and is set off with Nova Scotia trimmings. The other section of the building is trimmed with brown stone and furnoished with quoins of brown stone at every projecting corner. The building is designed for the accommodation of 1,200 patients, and is supplied with everything that can minister to the comfort and pleasure of the unfortunates to be confined within its walls.

The four extreme wings are designed for aggravated cases, and four wints are entirely fire-proof. In the rear of the front centre is the chapel, the dimensions of which are 100 by 60. Behind that is a well-appointed “amusement room,: as it is called, the dimensions of which are 100 by 80. Most excellent arrangements have been made for free ventilation, and the building is supplied with a register, to firnish warm air, and another for the supply of cool air, which is forced into the building.

The boiler room, in the ear of the building, is supplied with a shaft eighty feet high, through which the air is drawn in, and from which it is forced by the engines into all parts of the main building. In the boiler-room it is also intented to keep the provisions for the inmates. The laundry and carpenter-shop are also located in that building. The boiler-room is detached from the main building, and communication with it is had through eight underground arches, in which railroad cars are run. The floors of all the buildings are arched, and the beams are of iron.

The Commissioners under which whose supervision the work is being constructed have erected on an eminence, 112 feet above grade, in the rear of the building, a reservoir for the supply of fresh water to the inmates. This reservoir is supplied from a stream which formerly turned a mill and water is conveyed to the institution through a twelve-inch pipe.

The entire building has been under roof since last Fall. The original estimates were less than $1,000,000, but the plans have been very much changed, and the building is more handsomer than originally contemplated. The Commissioners are hopeful of having the building completed this Spring, and expect that the total cost will fall within the $2,000,000 appropriated for its erection.

Disclaimer: This article is featured on designedbreakdown solely for entertainment and educational purposes. Neither the publication nor this website are affiliated with one another in any way. Any photos featured within the article are chosen from galleries of photos on designedbreakdown.com unless noted otherwise.