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

Philadelphia State Hospital at Byberry was a psychiatric hospital in Northeast Philadelphia, first city and later state-owned. During its tenure as a hospital it was known by several names- Philadelphia State Hospital, Byberry State Hospital, Byberry City Farms, and the Philadelphia Hospital for Mental Diseases. However, most of the local population referred to it simply as "Byberry". Like many state facilities of the period, it was designated to care for individuals with various cognitive and psychiatric conditions, ranging from intellectual disabilities to forensic pathologies. When operational, it was located within the Somerton neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Byberry stood in operation from 1903 until 1990, when it became nationally infamous for the abuse and neglect exhibited towards patients. At its zenith, it was the largest state hospital in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and held a clinical population of over seven thousand patients.

History

Origins as a Private Facility

In 1903, the City of Philadelphia purchased farmland in the northeast section of the county, in a rural district then known as Byberry, There, as a measure of expanding the public welfare, they established a city-funded farm, known simply as "Byberry Farms". This facility was intended to supply food for other public institutions in the city, such as Eastern State Penitentiary and Philadelphia Almshouse (then known as Old Blockley). Shortly after the purchase of the land, six inmates from the overcrowded Blockley Almshouse in the city were chosen to work at the agricultural facility. By 1906, Byberry Farms had expanded, and consisted of several small wooden buildings built as temporary dormitories by the growing patient population. The site housed approximately thirty patients, all of whom had been moved from the heavily overcrowded wards of Old Blockley, to the rural atmosphere of Northeast Philadelphia. The city and general public promoted this notion, of sending some of the local "undesirables" out of site into an agrarian atmosphere. State Officials also promoted the placement of these individual's out of the public's peripheral vision. Byberry Farms was selected as the new site of the "Philadelphia Hospital for Mental Diseases" shortly after its founding. Before the hospital's public opening in 1907, the first officially accepted patient was William McClain whom was admitted for alcoholism.

The selection of the site of Byberry as a campus had nothing to do with its association to Dr. Benjamin Rush, the father of American Psychiatry, who was born and resided in Byberry Township. The historic homestead that belonged to his family is still standing, and was adjacent to the hospital proper.

A contract was awarded to architect Philip H. Johnson in 1904, to design the original buildings of the hospital, in a cottage plan layout, with a colonial revival style. Construction became a slow process, as it commenced in 1907, and was not fully complete until the late 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. The utilitarian and banal structure of the power-plant was the centerpiece of the campus and the first officially constructed building. The east campus, which held the "incurable" males, was largely completed in 1912. Following the partial completion of the east campus, construction for the west campus began in 1913. Like its parallel on the east campus, the west campus was designated to the "incurable" females patients of Philadelphia. These buildings were more architecturally ornate and consisted of ten identical dormitory buildings, a dining hall/refectory building, two buildings for the treatment of tuberculous, a laundry building, an administrative building, and a medical infirmary. Unlike the east campus, the west campus had above ground patient hallways with large illuminating windows, connecting all of the buildings on campus.

With the start of World War I, construction was halted until the final armistice of the German Empire in 1919. When work resumed on the west campuses power plant, which unlike the east campus, was built at a distance from the campus it served. Construction fully resumed on both east and west campuses in 1922, and was completed by 1928. Heavy criticism of the hospital's condition led to the construction of an additional medical infirmary, exclusively for female patients, as the last of the original buildings on west campus, being completed in 1935.

The hospital was in need of a separate unit to house adolescents, which would in time, became its south campus. Construction began on this additional expansion in 1926, and consisted of six cottages, a patient cafeteria, a small administrative building, and a small playground. The campus itself only took a year to complete, and was in active use by 1927. By the 1930's, Byberry had become severely overcrowded, and the buildings were in almost constant need of repair. Allegedly, the hospital was so substantially insufficiently funded by the city's budget, that during the depression some patients were naked year round because there were simply no clothes or shoes for them to wear. Since the salary for attendants was meager at best, hospital administrators were forced to hire: drunks, ex-felons, former patients, the outright abusive, or pretty much anyone off the street who was willing to accept work. Often after being arrested on a minor charge, petty criminals were offered the choice of jail time or employment at Byberry.

As Philadelphia State Hospital

In 1936, a Philadelphia Record photographer Mac Parker, disguising himself as an attendant, snuck in his camera onto the hospital grounds and took some very revealing photos of life inside Byberry. His photos, revealed what it was like inside of the "snake pit", and caused a sensation of negative public opinion. In 1938, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania intervened, and absorbed Byberry into the state hospital system. With new state funds, a comprehensive new building plan was instated to alleviate the overcrowding of the site, as well as hire qualified and empathetic staff. In 1938, George Wharton Pepper Jr. was hired as the new primary architect of the campus, as the former, Philip Johnson, had died in 1933.

The "Workers Building" also known as S1, 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 large dormitories that housed patients who suffered with senility. The commonwealth also renamed the site at this time, from the former "Byberry Hospital for Mental Diseases" to the more familiar "Philadelphia State Hospital".

During the Second World War

Civilian Public Service Unit Number 049-01

Like many state hospitals during World War II, their was crippling manpower shortage. Young men were recruited into the military, and many former commercial and industrial jobs were placed in the hands of women and the elderly. Civilian Public Service Unit, Camp No. 49, was brought to Byberry in August of 1942 to fill in. The unit was operated by the 'American Friends Service Committee', which remained active on site, until it withdrew in April of 1946. These individuals, most of which were men, CPS-49 worked as orderlies and ward attendants for the hospital's many buildings. They came from a background of conscientious objectors, who's religious or personal beliefs made it impossible for them to engage in the war. However, in lieu of military service, they worked civil service jobs for the state to satisfy the need for limited manpower.

At the time the CPS unit was established, Byberry had one hundred ten vacancies in a male attendant staff, of their one hundred seventy-three positions. According to Charles Zeller, Superintendent of Byverry, the ratio of attendant to patients was one attendant per shift for one hundred forty-four patients. After the attendants arrived, usually one to four attendants worked with three hundred fifty patients in the “violent” building. When the unit grew to nearly one hundred thirty-five attendants, usually six to seven attendants worked during the early day shift in that ward, while five attendants staffed the 2 pm to 11 pm shift. The hospital paid attendants room and board, laundry, and a personal maintenance fee, originally $2.50 per month. That was later increased to $10-15 per month.

For the women’s wards, staff shortages were even more severe. One attendant staffed a two-story building housing two hundred forty-three patients; two attendants covered the first shift of a semi-violent ward of over two hundred fifty patients, and only one attendant staffed each of the second and third shifts. Women attendants worked for $66.50 per month, plus room and board, including laundry for a fifty-four hour work week. CPS wives also received that wage as they were not subject to Selective Service regulations.

Expansion and Decline

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 Byberry's turn around. The Furey Ellis Hall improved public relations, being equipped with modern film projectors and accommodations for up to 400 patients.

The children's 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 de-institutionalization, 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.

Closure and Aftermath

Byberry in 1993

Casey placed a gubernatorial order that the hospital should be closed immediately. Closure was done in several phases, building by building, until there were only five patients left. The last building closed at Philadelphia State was N8, which housed the last patients, who were released by June of 1990. Hospital Administrators had transferred 79% of their clinical population to other state facilites, such as Norristown State Hospital and Haverford State Hospital; however, over 2,500 patients were let out onto the streets of Philadelphia to fend for their own welfare, where many of them remain. In the wake of the closure of such a large facility, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania also developed a number of community outpatient clinics for the psychiatric care of the poor in the city. Thse clinics are still operational, and remain exclusively county funded. They are: Interac CMHMR (BSU# 6A), Northwestern Human Services (BSU# 6B), WES Health Center (BSU #6C), PATH CMHMR(BSU# 7B), Community Council MHMR (BSU# 4), Northwest CMHMR (BSU# 7A), COHMAR (BSU#), John F. Kennedy CMHMR (BSU#1), Hall-Mercer CMHMR (BSU# 2A), CATCH CMHMR (BSU# 2B), Consortium CMHMR (BSU# 3), WES Health Center (BSU# 5A), and Northwestern Human Services (BSU# 7C).

Old Philadelphia State Hospital Sign

In the fall of 1991, demolition started with the E buildings, most of their materials had been stripped away prior, and they were shells of former aesthetic glory. One of the earlier 20th century buildings was salvaged and refurbished, Building E6, which still stands today housing an outpatient drug rehabilitation clinic. The calculated removal and cleanup of the former state hospital amounted to somewhere between $13-16 million, not including demolition. For the following decade of demolition the commonwealth decided to leave a number of buildings standing, and hired additional security to watch the grounds from potential vandals. In 1997, the warehouses were demolished, followed by C6 and C12 in 2000, and the laundry building in 2004.

In March of 2006, the Westrum Development Corporation purchased the remaining 106-acre Byberry site. They were 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 tattered ruins of the property. A week later, truckloads of trees and other natural growth clinging to the buildings was removed, and discarded. On Wednesday, June 14th 2006, a celebration was held in front of C-7 Building. This was the long overdue ending and renovation of the familiar local "eyesore" that Byberry had become. The ceremony consisted of knocking over the overgrown Philadelphia State Hospital sign, a symbol of the sites former activity. In attendance were: Governor Edward Rendell, Mayor John Street, J. Westrum (CEO), and J. Sweeny, CEO of Brandywine Realty Trust, the developers of the new buildings to be built on site.

List of Superintendents of Philadelphia State Hospital

• Dr. James Sands
• Dr. Herbert C. Woolley 1936-?
• Dr. Charles Zeller 1942-1943?
• Dr. Daniel Blain 1966-1971
• Dr. Franklyn Clarke 1974?
• C. Charles Erb ?-1987
• Ford Thompson 1987-1990 (acting)

Images of Philadelphia State Hospital

Main Image Gallery: Philadelphia State Hospital

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Related Facilities

State-owned Facilities

• Norristown State Hospital
• Haverford State Hospital
• Philadelphia Almshouse
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital
• Embreeville State Hospital

Private Facilities

• Friends Hospital
• Pennsylvania Hospital

Publications

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

Videos and Brief Films

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 about Philadelphia State Hospital

• 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 on Byberry Hospital
• Dedicated Website to Byberrt
• Opacity Photos of the Hospital
• See Philadelphia State Hospital at HistoricAerials.com
• The Story of Byberry Hosptial