Philadelphia State Hospital

Philadelphia State Hospital
Established	Sept 29, 1938 (As a PA State Hospital)
Construction Began	1906
Construction Ended	1956
Opened	1907
Closed	June 1990
Demolished	2006
Current Status	Demolished
Building Style	Cottage Plan
Architect(s)	Philip H. Johnson George W. Pepper Jr. (N6 & N7 Senile Wards; N3 Active Therapy) H. J. Kuljian & Co. (N5 Dietary/Kitchen) Howell Lewis Shay (N9 Maxium Security Male) Stopper & Lichty (N8 Maxium Security Female) Davis and Poole (N10 Tubercular) Nolen & Swinburne (Furey Ellis Hall/Auditorium)
Location	Philadelphia, PA
Peak Patient Population	Over 7,000 in 1960
Alternate Names	Byberry State Hospital Byberry City Farms Philadelphia Hospital for Mental Diseases

The Philadelphia State Hospital at Byberry was a cottage plan asylum located in the Byberry neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.

History

In 1903 the city of Philadelphia purchased farmland in it's northeast section, known as "Byberry", for its city-run farm called "Byberry Farms", which supplied food for public institutions. Shortly after the purchase of the land, six inmates from the overcrowded Blockley Almshouse were chosen to work at the farms. By 1906, Byberry Farms consisted of several small wooden buildings built as temporary dormitories by the growing patient population, housing approximately thirty patients who had been moved from the heavily overcrowded Blockley. As a result of the city and general public, liking the idea of sending the city's most dangerous citizens as far away as possible, chose Byberry Farms as the new home of the "Philadelphia Hospital for Mental Diseases". Before the hospital's public opening in 1907, the first officially accepted patient was William McClain whom was admitted for alcoholism.

An contract was awarded to architect Philip H. Johnson in 1904, to design the buildings in a cottage plan layout in a colonial revival style for the newly formed hospital. Construction had become a slow process as it had begun in 1907, and was not fully complete until the 1920's. Plans for the east campus (male group) consisted of six dormitory buildings, an infirmary, a laundry building, an administrative building and a combination kitchen/dining hall and power plant which was the centerpiece of the campus and the first officially constructed building. The east campus which held the "incurable" males which was mainly completed in 1912; were connected by dark, already leaky underground patient tunnels had already become reminiscent of a nazi concentration camp. Following the partial completion of the east campus, construction for the west campus to house the "incurable" females began in 1913. These buildings were more architecturally ornate and consisted of ten identical dormitory buildings, a dining hall/refectory building, two buildings for tuberculous patients, a laundry building, an administrative building, and an infirmary. Unlike the east campus, the west campus had above ground connecting patient hallways with large illuminating windows.

With the start of WWI, construction was halted until 1919, when work began on the west campuses power plant, which also, unlike the east campus, was built a distance from the campus it served. Construction resumed on both east and west campuses in 1922, and was completed by 1928. Dire criticism of the hospitals condition led to the infirmary, the last building of the original west campus, being constructed in 1935.

The hospital was in need of a separate unit to house children that would became the south campus. Construction began in 1926 and consisted of six cottages, a cafeteria, a small administrative building and a small playground, all of which were completed and in use by 1927. By the 1930s Byberry was flooded with overcrowding and the buildings were in almost constant need of repairs. This, combined with more and more staff and attendants quitting, led to patients finding it easier to escape. Allegedly, the hospital was given so little money by the city during the depression that after some patients would destroy their clothing, they would be housed in designated buildings where patients were naked year round because there were simply no clothes or shoes for them. The city hired drunks and pretty much anyone off the street who was willing to work for the meager wages they offered. Often after being arrested on a minor charge, petty criminals were offered the choice of jail or work at byberry.

In 1936, a Philadelphia Record photographer Mac Parker, disguising himself as an attendant, snuck in his camera and took some very revealing photos of life inside Byberry. His photos, revealing what it's was like inside of the "snake pit", caused such a sensation in the public that in 1938 Byberry was finally signed over to the state. With new state funds, a comprehensive new building plan was instated to alleviate the overcrowding, along with a group of qualified staff being hired. In 1938 George Wharton Pepper Jr was hired as a new primary architect, as Johnson had died in 1933.

The "Workers' Building" also known as S1, had opened in 1942, also housed a new recreational section for patients that contained a gym, bowling alley, a swimming pool, basketball courts, a library and a spa. As S1 was opening, work began on the N6 and N7 buildings which were huge, hotel like dormitories that housed senile patients. With these new modern buildings giving a feeling of change, the state sought to change the publics view of what was "Byberry Hospital for Mental Diseases" to what was now the new future, the "Philadelphia State Hospital".

Still undergoing an enormous expansion, in 1946 the new kitchen/dietary building, N5, was opened. The following year S2 (twin to the S1 building), a building for working patients, was completed. By the 1950s though, its original purpose was almost forgotten and the building was converted into a regular patient dormitory to keep up with overcrowding. In 1948 ground was broken for a new building called N3, the Active Therapy Building, which was the first actual step towards aggressively treating patients who needed it the most.

In 1950 The Active Therapy Building was completed and opened. One half of it consisted of typical patient dormitories and day rooms, while the other half was filled with lab equipment, a staff library, an auditorium, a large and efficient mortuary and autopsy department, and a training center. The same year ground was broken for the new tuberculosis building N10, but the architect George Pepper died in 1949. Even though Pepper had already completed layout, the state contracted out the remaining buildings to various firms which resulted in subtle differences between buildings N8, N9, and N10. The new tuberculosis building, also known as N10, was opened in 1951. This was the largest building, housing its own full sized cafeterias and kitchens, plus a dental office, x-ray rooms and an ER. Ironically, seven years later, medical science found a cure for TB. N10s original purpose was no longer being needed, it became the medical/surgical building. A change in the 1950's that occurred due to state control was a re-designation of the building titles. The north campus was split into the north and west groups; N3, N5, N6, and N7 were changed to W3, W5, W6 and W7. The female buildings were now classified as the C buildings or "Central Group", as they were located between the south and north groups. The south and east groups were renamed to the first letter of the group, so the east group was now the E buildings and the south group was now called the S buildings.

In 1955, at the time of his death, a new auditorium was constructed in honor of Furey Ellis, who was partially responsible for Byberrys turn around. The Furey Ellis Hall improved public relations, being equipped with modern film projectors and accommodations for up to 400 patients.

The childrens unit was demolished and the children were transferred to the C4 and C5 buildings. With the rise of transportation the staff buildings were no longer needed and the south unit buildings were demolished by the 1970s. With a small amount of remaining staff who still chose the option to live on the grounds, W7 was re-designated, bricked off from the connecting tunnels, and turned into staff housing as well as staff offices and make-shift lounges.

With the beginning of deinstitutionalization, Byberry began its downsizing process in 1962, releasing almost 2,000 patients to mental health centers, other hospitals and the streets between 1962 and 1972. The E buildings began transferring their patients to the north and west groups in 1954, and were completely closed off by 1964. Significantly dropping funds forced the hospital to stop accepting admissions and continue transferring patients to other facilities in the mid 1970s. In the early 1980s the C buildings became mostly vacant, and administration was moved to the W3 building. The last remaining forensic patients were housed in N8 after it received a thorough interior makeover in 1985.

With the hospital being completely understaffed, many patients were neglected and abused. The lack of help had increasingly allowed many patients to escape, as well as to be raped, murdered and allowed to commit suicide. In 1987 Governor Bob Casey had the hospital thoroughly searched and observed. The conditions that he discovered made headlines around the country.

Casey ordered the hospital closed. Closing was done in phases, building by building, until there were only five patients left. The last building closed was N8, which housed the last five patients, who were released in June of 1990. Byberry had transferred 79% of its patients to other "acceptable" facilites, but over 2,500 patients were let out onto the streets. In 1991 demolition started with the E buildings, most of their materials had been stripped and they were shells of former glory. One of the buildings was salvaged and refurbished, E6, which still stands today housing a business. With the calculated removal amount of 13-16 million (not including demolition) the state decided to leave the buildings and hire security to watch the grounds. In 1997, the warehouses were demolished, followed by C6 and C12 in 2000 and laundry in 2004.

In March of 2006, the Westrum Development Corporation purchased the 106 acre Byberry site. Pressured from Somerton residents as well as the city to end the "Byberry problem", Westrum moved quickly. By June 7th there was a chain link fence surrounding the property. A week later, truckloads of trees and other natural growth clinging to the buildings like a friend, was removed and discarded. The C buildings, for the first time in 25 years, stood boldly, displaying their long gone pride. At a long, staring look, one could see how they once formed a complex of buildings. On Wednesday, June 14th 2006, a celebration of sorts was held in front of C-7. The celebration was the long overdue ending and renovation of this "eyesore". The ceremony consisted of knocking over the overgrown Philadelphia State Hospital sign. In attendence were Governor Rendell, Mayor Street, J. Westrum (CEO), and J. Sweeny, CEO of Brandywine Realty Trust, the developers of the new buildings to be built on site.

Images of Philadelphia State Hospital

Main Image Gallery: Philadelphia State Hospital

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Books

• The Byberry I-W unit story: Philadelphia State Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Dorcas Weaver Herr
• The Shame that was Byberry, by William Ecenbarger

Video

This is an old bata tape video found in the hospital of the staff discussing various patients.

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The following is a forty minute video about the closing of Philadelphia State Hospital.
Part 1

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Part 2

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This is a documentary and a bit of a walk through of the campus.

News Articles

• Philadelphia State Hospital in house magazine: April 1950
• An Expose done on the hospital by The Oakland Tribune in the Sunday, November 10, 1968 Edition Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4
• An article on the closure of this hospital by the The Daily Intelligencer in their Tuesday, December 08, 1987
• WWII Pacifists Exposed Mental Ward Horrors, December 30, 2009

Additional Information & Links

• Wikipedia
• Dedicated Website
• Opacity Photos
• See Philadelphia State Hospital at HistoricAerials.com
• The Story of Byberry