Massachusetts Mental Health Center
| Massachusetts Mental Health Center | |
|---|---|
| Construction Began | 1911 |
| Current Status | Preserved |
| Building Style | Rambling Plan |
| Location | 74 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA |
| Alternate Names | Boston Psychopathic Hospital |
The Boston Psychopathic Hospital was the first mental health hospital in Massachusetts.
In November 1909 the site for the hospital was purchased on Fenwood Road, 5 minutes' walk from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Elmer E. Southard was appointed director of the hospital early in 1910, to supervise its construction. On June 24, 1912 the Psychiatric Hospital was formally opened as a department of Boston State Hospital.
On May 1, 1919 the Massachusetts State Psychiatric Institute was separated from the Psychopathic Department of the Boston State Hospital, which relieved the psychopathic department of scientific research, leaving it with purely hospital functions. On December 1, 1920 the psychopathic department was made into a separate Boston Psychopathic Hospital, under director Dr. C. Macfie Campbell. It was later renamed the Massachusetts Mental Health Center.
Books
- History of the Psychopathic Hospital 1922 written by L. Vernon Briggs, M.D.
