Difference between revisions of "Portal:Featured Article Of The Week"

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|Title= St. Louis State Hospital
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|Title= Central State Hospital Louisville
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|Body= On April 23, 1869 outside the City of St. Louis, "St. Louis County Lunatic Asylum" opened its doors to 150 mentally ill people on what is now 53 acres in southwest St. Louis. Designed and built by architect William Rumbold, it is the second governmental facility in the state to serve this population. Rumbold also designed the dome on the Old Courthouse, site of the famous Dred Scott trials and now part of the Gateway Arch National Park. (It is believed he went on to consult on the design of the dome on the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.) The building's bricks were made on site and cost overruns made it the most expensive facility of its kind west of the Mississippi, $750,000 in a time when annual income was $150-$200.
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|Body= Central State Hospital was a 192-bed adult psychiatric hospital located in eastern Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky. In 1869, 200 acres were purchased by the Kentucky State Legislature from the descendants of renown frontiersman Issac Hite to establish a "State House of Reform for Juvenile Delinquents." This was located on the outskirts of what would become Anchorage, Kentucky. In 1873, due to overcrowding at both of Kentucky's mental hospitals, the House of Reform was converted into the Fourth Kentucky Lunatic Asylum, with Dr. C.C. Forbes as its first Superintendent. The following year an act of the legislature renamed it the Central Kentucky Lunatic Asylum. In late 1887, it received its own post office, called simply "Asylum". The following year its name was changed to "Lakeland", and the institution was commonly referred to as "Lakeland Hospital" or "Lakeland Asylum". By 1900, its official name had been changed to the Central Kentucky Asylum for the Insane. By 1912 it was known as Central State Hospital. Comparable institutions are Eastern State Hospital at Lexington in Fayette County and Western State Hospital at Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky. All three were administered by the Board of Charitable Organizations.
  
In 1876 the City of St. Louis separates from St. Louis County, so the facility name changes to "The St. Louis City Insane Asylum". Thirty-five years later, it was renamed "City Sanitarium". Regarded as a showpiece, a model of the western world's ability to take care of its more vulnerable, the Dome Building became a "must see" for foreign dignitaries and tourists. The elevation of its city view made it the premier lookout point prior to the 630 ft. Gateway Arch. Graffiti inside the dome attests to its many visitors. Periodically, civic and social leaders dressed up to dance with patients in the ballroom below the dome. Later, debutante parties were common in the Dome Building lobby.
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The secluded, rural setting was typical of such facilities in the late 19th century, as such an environment was thought to be beneficial for recovery from mental illness. However, not all patients had mental disorders - some suffered from brain damage, mental retardation or were simply poor or elderly. The early years of the 1880s were marked by repeated allegations of patient abuse.  [[Central State Hospital Louisville|Click here for more...]]
 
 
By 1907, construction on wings and annexes (known as buildings B, C, D, E, G, H, I, J, and separate K building) to the original building commences to accommodate the 2000 patients and 300 staff members. More and more people are admitted to the hospital because roads and transportation improved. The next overflow crisis occurred in the early 1920s which precipitated a separate building being erected for attendants' quarters. This freed space in the hospital into which patients could be moved. By 1940, the hospital had 3,844 patients.  [[St. Louis State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
 
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Revision as of 02:47, 28 February 2021

Featured Article Of The Week

Central State Hospital Louisville


22447632 10155229949858717 468205663 n.jpg

Central State Hospital was a 192-bed adult psychiatric hospital located in eastern Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky. In 1869, 200 acres were purchased by the Kentucky State Legislature from the descendants of renown frontiersman Issac Hite to establish a "State House of Reform for Juvenile Delinquents." This was located on the outskirts of what would become Anchorage, Kentucky. In 1873, due to overcrowding at both of Kentucky's mental hospitals, the House of Reform was converted into the Fourth Kentucky Lunatic Asylum, with Dr. C.C. Forbes as its first Superintendent. The following year an act of the legislature renamed it the Central Kentucky Lunatic Asylum. In late 1887, it received its own post office, called simply "Asylum". The following year its name was changed to "Lakeland", and the institution was commonly referred to as "Lakeland Hospital" or "Lakeland Asylum". By 1900, its official name had been changed to the Central Kentucky Asylum for the Insane. By 1912 it was known as Central State Hospital. Comparable institutions are Eastern State Hospital at Lexington in Fayette County and Western State Hospital at Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky. All three were administered by the Board of Charitable Organizations.

The secluded, rural setting was typical of such facilities in the late 19th century, as such an environment was thought to be beneficial for recovery from mental illness. However, not all patients had mental disorders - some suffered from brain damage, mental retardation or were simply poor or elderly. The early years of the 1880s were marked by repeated allegations of patient abuse. Click here for more...