greystone park psychiatric hospital

On August 17, 1876, Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital opened its doors to accept patients. Its location was selected because of its proximity to the majority of state's population, which resided mainly in the north.

The campus originally practiced Puritanical ideals of "Moral Treatment" when its doors first opened. In the late 1800s it was believed that mental illness could be caused by physical injury, or by bad family values, lack of religious beliefs, social problems, poverty, or even lack of education. "Moral Treatment" was thought to correct these anomalies by substituting chaos in one's life with calm and serene surroundings, a set schedule or activities and meals, and minimal use of restraint and punishment.

Grestone's most famous patient was definitely Woody Guthrie. He called the hospital home from 1956-1961. He suffered from what is now known as Huntington's Disorder, a degenerative nervous disorder, but at the time was misdiagnosed with mental problems. Bob Dylan was known to frequently visit Guthrie throughout his stay.

The main building on the campus followed the Kirkbride plan- administrative offices in the center, followed by 3 wards on each side of the administrative offices, each one building off of the last. The hospital was surrounded by rolling hills and beautiful gardens, enforcing the thought that aesthetic surroundings would help troubled patients relax and heal. The main Victorian style Kirkbride building was so large, it was said to have the largest continuous foundation in the United States until the Pentagon was constructed in 1943.

The entire campus was built to function as a self-contained community- there were staff housing, police and fire stations, a farm, recrational facilities, and even tunnels underground to connect all of the buildings. A dormitory building was built behind the Main Kirkbride style building in 1901 to accommodate soaring patient populations.

The late 1940s saw a spike in the patient population, with 7,000 patients. Many of these patients were war veterans facing symptoms of shock and stress disorders. Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital was one of very few hospitals capable of caring for such patients through use of electro shock and insulin shock coma.  The peak of patient enrollment was in 1953, with 7,674 patients.

The advent of Thorazine proved to be a large turning point in America's treatment of the mentally ill. This new miracle medicine allowed for the discharge of many patients who before had been deemed too dangerous for release. The late 70s and early 80s saw a movement towards deinstitutionalization, and suddenly the hospital was facing many empty beds.

In the year 2000 Governor Christine Todd Whitman ordered the facilty closed by 2003. There were many reasons, but the main problems were aging/outdated buildings, and a growing number of issues with patients such as sexual assaults, escapes, pregnancies, and suicides. 300 acres of the grounds were then purchased by the County at the cost of $1.00 from the state. Currently the hospital houses 550 patients until the new hospital is completed.

The state broke ground for a new hospital on the campus grounds on November 15, 2005. It is 2/3 the size of the Kirkbride and houses approximately 450 patients. There is also apartment style housing for 100 additional patients located nearby.

Currently the center portion of the Kirkbride is still in use, occupied by Admiinistrative Offices, but they are scheduled to move to the new complex up the hill in April of 2008, and the doors of the beautiful main building will be locked forever and perimeter fences raised, land surrendered to the state and county. Future plans for the Kirkbride building remain unclear, although it is supposed to be saved and renovated due to historical value.

Demolition crews have already razed the cafeteria building across the road, and have cleaned out and abated the Medical Clinic Building. The Clinic Building is in the process of being torn down, with the Curry Building next in line to be abated and removed.