Edgewood State Hospital

Last updated
Edgewood State Hospital
Edgewood State Hospital
Geography
Location Deer Park, New York, United States
Coordinates 40°46′34″N73°18′34″W / 40.776191°N 73.309463°W / 40.776191; -73.309463
Organization
Type tubercular/psychiatric hospital
Patron ny state
Network ny state
Services
StandardsN/A
Emergency department yes
Beds700-900
History
Opened1940s
Closed1971
Demolished1980s
Links
Lists Hospitals in New York

Edgewood State Hospital was a tubercular/psychiatric hospital complex that formerly stood in Deer Park, New York, on Long Island. It was one of four state mental asylums built on Long Island (the others being Kings Park State Hospital, Central Islip State Hospital, and Pilgrim State Hospital), and was the last one of the four to be built.

History

The hospital was built in the early 1940s, believed to be a Works Progress Administration-funded project. It consisted only of ten buildings (including its massive, prominent 13-story main building), making it the smallest of the four as well (although it was planned to be a larger complex, those plans never made it past paper). The facility was commandeered by the War Department after the United States entered World War II. The War Department completed its construction for use as a psychiatric facility for battle-traumatized soldiers. Its entire campus (in addition to three buildings from nearby Pilgrim State Hospital and numerous temporary structures) was used as "Mason General Hospital" by the department. [1] [2]

When the war ended, the hospital was transferred back to New York State, where it essentially operated as the tubercular division of Pilgrim for a few years. In 1946 film director John Huston was assigned by the U.S. government to film a documentary film about recovering soldiers in the hospital for propaganda purposes, the film was called Let There Be Light . [2]

Advancements in medicine throughout the 1950s and 1960s that offered alternatives to institutionalization led to deinstitutionalisation, and the hospital closed in 1971. From that point on it was left to the mercy of vandals, arsonists and time. Its main building and a handful of other structures were demolished in stages throughout 1989. The final remaining structures were disposed of around 1990–91. [2]

Today, the site sits as an open, state-protected oak-brush plains preserve under the NYS DEC department. One can still find remnants of the former hospital, such as the old rail spur, fire hydrants, etc., scattered about. People can obtain a free DEC permit for access to the preserve. Activities include hiking, biking, dog training, and model airplane flying. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Elizabeths Hospital</span> Hospital in D.C., U.S.

St. Elizabeths Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Southeast Washington, D.C. operated by the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health. The hospital opened in 1855 under the name Government Hospital for the Insane, the first federally operated psychiatric hospital in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kings Park Psychiatric Center</span> Former psychiatric hospital in New York, United States

The Kings Park Psychiatric Center, known by Kings Park locals as "Kings Park Asylum", is a former state-run psychiatric hospital located in Kings Park, New York. It operated from 1885 until 1996, when the State of New York closed the facility, releasing its few remaining patients or transferring them to the still-operational Pilgrim Psychiatric Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manhattan Psychiatric Center</span> Hospital in New York, United States

The Manhattan Psychiatric Center is a New York-state run psychiatric hospital on Wards Island in New York City. As of 2009, it was licensed for 509 beds, but holds only around 200 patients. The current building is 17 stories tall. The building strongly resembles the main building of the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens. It is adjacent to Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center, a specialized facility for patients with criminal convictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taunton State Hospital</span> Hospital in Massachusetts, United States

Taunton State Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located on Hodges Avenue in Taunton, Massachusetts. Established in 1854, it was originally known as the State Lunatic Hospital at Taunton. It was the second state asylum in Massachusetts. Most of the original part of the facility was built in a unique and rare neo-classical style designed by architects Boyden & Ball. It is also a Kirkbride Plan hospital and is located on a large 154-acre (62 ha) farm along the Mill River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilgrim Psychiatric Center</span> Hospital in New York, U.S.

Pilgrim Psychiatric Center, formerly known as Pilgrim State Hospital, is a state-run psychiatric hospital located in Brentwood, New York. Nine months after its official opening in 1931, the hospital's patient population was 2,018, as compared with more than 5,000 at the Georgia State Sanitarium in Milledgeville, Ga. At its peak in 1954, Pilgrim State Hospital could claim to be the largest mental hospital in the U.S., with 13,875 patients. Its size has never been exceeded by any other facility, though it is now far smaller than it once was.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athens Lunatic Asylum</span> United States historic place

The Athens Lunatic Asylum, now a mixed-use development known as The Ridges, was a Kirkbride Plan mental hospital operated in Athens, Ohio, from 1874 until 1993. During its operation, the hospital provided services to a variety of patients including Civil War veterans, children, and those declared mentally unwell. After a period of disuse the property was redeveloped by the state of Ohio. Today, The Ridges are a part of Ohio University and house the Kennedy Museum of Art as well as an auditorium and many offices, classrooms, and storage facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital</span> Hospital in Morris Plains, New Jersey

Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital referred to both the former psychiatric hospital and the historic building that it occupied in Morris Plains, New Jersey. Built in 1876, the facility was built to alleviate overcrowding at the state's only other "lunatic asylum" located in Trenton, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Callan Park Hospital for the Insane</span> Former hospital in New South Wales, Australia

The Callan Park Hospital for the Insane (1878–1914) is a heritage-listed former insane asylum, which was subsequently, for a time, used as a college campus, located in the grounds of Callan Park, an area on the shores of Iron Cove in Lilyfield, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. In 1915, the facility was renamed as the Callan Park Mental Hospital and, again in 1976, to Callan Park Hospital. Since 1994, the facility has been formally known as Rozelle Hospital. In April 2008, all Rozelle Hospital services and patients were transferred to Concord Hospital. The Callan Park Act, 2002 (NSW) restricts future uses of the site to health, tertiary education and community uses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwich State Hospital</span> United States historic place

The Norwich State Hospital, originally established as Norwich State Hospital for the Insane and later shortened to Norwich Hospital, was a psychiatric hospital that is located in Preston and Norwich, Connecticut. It opened its doors in October 1904 and it remained operational until October 10, 1996. Throughout its years of operation, it housed geriatric patients, chemically dependent patients and, from 1931 to 1939, tubercular patients. The hospital, which sits on the banks of the Thames River, began with a single building on 100 acres (40 ha) of land and expanded to, at its peak, over thirty buildings and 900 acres (360 ha).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deer Park station</span> Long Island Rail Road station in Suffolk County, New York

Deer Park is a station along the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road. It is officially located at Pineaire Drive, Executive Avenue, and Long Island Avenue in Baywood, New York.

Mendota Mental Health Institute (MMHI) is a public psychiatric hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, United States, operated by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission. Portions of the facility are included in the Wisconsin Memorial Hospital Historic District, District #88002183. The Mendota State Hospital Mound Group and Farwell's Point Mound Group are also located at the facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudson River State Hospital</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Islip Psychiatric Center</span>

The Central Islip Psychiatric Center, formerly State Hospital for the Insane, was a state psychiatric hospital in Central Islip, New York, United States from 1889 until 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worcester State Hospital</span> Hospital in Massachusetts, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central State Hospital (Virginia)</span> Hospital in Virginia, United States

Central State Hospital, originally known as the Central Lunatic Asylum, is a psychiatric hospital in Petersburg, Virginia, United States. It was the first institution in the country for "colored persons of unsound mind".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital</span> Former public hospital in New York Harbor

The Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital was a United States Public Health Service hospital on Ellis Island, in New York Harbor, that operated from 1902 to 1951. The hospital is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. While the monument is managed by the National Park Service as part of the National Parks of New York Harbor office, the south side of Ellis Island, including the hospital, is managed by the non-profit Save Ellis Island Foundation and has been off-limits to the general public since its closing in 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center</span> United States historic place

The Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center is a psychiatric hospital operated by the state of Maine. It is located at 656 State Street in Bangor, and was previously known as the Eastern Maine Insane Asylum and the Bangor Mental Health Institute. It was established in 1895, and the main building on its campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indianapolis Veterans Administration Hospital</span> United States historic place

Indianapolis Veterans Administration Hospital, also known as Larue D. Carter Memorial Hospital is a historic hospital complex and national historic district located at Indianapolis, Indiana. The district resources were developed between 1930 and 1951 by the Veterans Administration, and encompasses 15 contributing buildings, 2 contributing sites, 2 contributing structures and 5 contributing objects on the hospital campus. The main complex is connected by an enclosed corridor and consists of the main hospital building (1931), kitchen/mess hall/boiler house/attendants' quarters, general medical building (1939), and recreation building (1941). The buildings reflect the Colonial Revival and Classical Revival styles of architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broughton Hall, Lilyfield</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

Broughton Hall is a heritage-listed former residence, convalescent hospital and psychiatric clinic situated in Callan Park, which has its main entrance on Balmain Road, Lilyfield, Inner West Council, New South Wales, Australia. The house, Broughton House or Broughton Hall, was built c. 1841 and variously served as a residence for prominent businessmen and public figures (1841–1914). It is situated within the Callan Park Conservation Area, in Church Street, Lilyfield, near the corner of Wharf Road. It was used as No. 13 Australian Army Hospital during World War I. Other buildings were constructed over time and the precinct was used as the Broughton Hall Psychiatric Clinic (1921–1976). It was merged into Rozelle Hospital along with the adjacent Callan Park Hospital for the Insane in 1976, during which time it became the first premises for the Rivendell Child, Adolescent and Family Unit. Broughton House fell into disuse, suffering severe damage from fire and vandalism. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

References

  1. "Demolition of Edgewood". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Edgewood State Hospital". Edgewood Hospital.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2020.[ unreliable source? ]