Traverse City State Hospital
Encyclopedia
The Traverse City State Hospital of Traverse City, Michigan
has been variously known as the Northern Michigan Asylum and the Traverse City Regional Psychiatric Hospital. It has for many years been called the "11th Street Academy".
It is the last Kirkbride Building
of Michigan's original four left in the state.
Northern Michigan Asylum for the Insane was established in 1885 as the demand for a third psychiatric hospital
, in addition to those established in Kalamazoo and Pontiac, Michigan
, began to grow. Lumber baron Perry Hannah, “the father of Traverse City,” used his political influence to secure its location in his home town. Under the supervision of prominent architect Gordon W. Lloyd
, the first building, known as Building 50, was constructed in Victorian
-Italianate
style according to the Kirkbride Plan
. In 1963, the main 1885 center wing was destroyed because it was deemed a fire hazard and a new modern building was put up in its place.
Under Dr. James Decker Munson, the first superintendent from 1885 to 1924, the institution expanded. Twelve housing cottages and two infirmaries were built between 1887 and 1903 to meet the specific needs of male and female patients. All of the cottages except the northernmost are still standing. The institution became the city’s largest employer and contributed to its growth. In the 1930s three large college-like buildings were constructed near the present site of the Munson Hospital parking deck and the Grand Traverse Pavilions. These buildings were demolished in 1995 because they were deemed "incompatible with reuse."
Long before the advent of drug therapy
in the 1950s, Munson was a firm believer in the “beauty is therapy” philosophy. Patients were treated through kindness
, comfort
, pleasure
, and beautiful flowers provided year-round by the asylum's own greenhouses and the variety of trees Munson planted on the grounds. Restraints, such as the straitjacket
, were forbidden. Also, as part of the “work is therapy” philosophy, the asylum provided opportunities for patients to gain a sense of purpose through farming, furniture construction, fruit canning, and other trades that kept the institution fully self-sufficient. The asylum farm began in 1885 with the purchase of some milk cows and within a decade grew to include pigs, chickens, milk and meat cows, and many vegetable fields. In the 1910s-30s, the farm was home to a world champion milk cow, Traverse Colantha Walker. Her grave is at the end of the dirt trail between the farm and the asylum. The farm closed in the late 1950s, and most of the farm buildings were destroyed by the state in the mid 1970s. Two large barns (constructed in 1901 and 1932) still stand on the south side of the hospital complex. There are plans to renovate these historic structures, though nothing has been done yet.
The asylum also produced its own electricity and heat. In 1893, a shop building was built directly behind the center of building 50 (This was demolished in 1949 after being replaced by a larger power plant on the south side of the asylum grounds). The shop building generated steam to heat the asylum, and many of the steam tunnels that ran between the main building and shop still exist. However, the newer power plant, which is still standing, is to be renovated and turned into office space.
While the hospital was established for the care of the mentally ill, its use expanded during outbreaks of tuberculosis
, epilepsy
, typhoid, diphtheria
, influenza
, and polio. It also cared for the elderly, served as a rehab for drug addicts, and was used to train nurses. During the mid-late 1980's, the institution saw a heavy influx of drug users who sought relief from their addictions. After Munson’s retirement, James Decker Munson Hospital was established in his honor on the grounds in 1926, and was operated by the state well after his death and into the 1950s. It was then replaced by Munson Medical Center
in the 1950's, the largest hospital in northern Michigan and one of the largest in the state. A portrait of Dr. Munson hangs inside the main lobby of Munson Medical Center.
With the increasing success of drug therapies in the 1970s, many mental patients improved sufficiently that by the latter half of the decade the Kirkbride and the other Victorian buildings were vacant. This, in addition to changes in mental health
care philosophy, the decline of institutionalization, and cuts in funding, forced the closure of the Traverse City Regional Psychiatric Hospital in 1989, with a loss of over 200 jobs to the local economy.
of the former Building 50 as part of The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, a residential and commercial development. By 2005, the southernmost wing and Hall 20 (Phase One) were fully completed and in use. The 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) Mercato Phase of Building 50 was finished by fall 2008. Other buildings on the site are being renovated for new uses including an urban winery, a fair trade coffee roaster, and a brick oven bakery that opened in fall 2007. In fall 2008 the Minervini group began renovation of some of the cottages, three of which will become a hotel. Currently, apartments on the upper floors of building 50 are for sale. Munson Medical Center is currently renovating a 1893 cottage close to its parking deck into a second hospitality house. The north wing of Building 50 is to be renovated in 2009. As of June 2009, progress has taken place in the cottages slated to become a hotel.The hotel has stalled with no buyers making a commitment some of the cottages lay vacant.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
has been variously known as the Northern Michigan Asylum and the Traverse City Regional Psychiatric Hospital. It has for many years been called the "11th Street Academy".
It is the last Kirkbride Building
Kirkbride Plan
The Kirkbride Plan refers to a system of mental asylum design advocated by Philadelphia psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride in the mid-19th century.-History:The establishment of state mental hospitals in the U.S...
of Michigan's original four left in the state.
History
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
, in addition to those established in Kalamazoo and Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
, began to grow. Lumber baron Perry Hannah, “the father of Traverse City,” used his political influence to secure its location in his home town. Under the supervision of prominent architect Gordon W. Lloyd
Gordon W. Lloyd
Gordon W. Lloyd was an architect of English origin, whose work was primarily in the American Midwest. After being taught by his uncle, Ewan Christian, at the Royal Academy, Lloyd moved to Detroit in 1858. There he established himself as a popular architect of Episcopal churches and cathedrals in...
, the first building, known as Building 50, was constructed in Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
-Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
style according to the Kirkbride Plan
Kirkbride Plan
The Kirkbride Plan refers to a system of mental asylum design advocated by Philadelphia psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride in the mid-19th century.-History:The establishment of state mental hospitals in the U.S...
. In 1963, the main 1885 center wing was destroyed because it was deemed a fire hazard and a new modern building was put up in its place.
Under Dr. James Decker Munson, the first superintendent from 1885 to 1924, the institution expanded. Twelve housing cottages and two infirmaries were built between 1887 and 1903 to meet the specific needs of male and female patients. All of the cottages except the northernmost are still standing. The institution became the city’s largest employer and contributed to its growth. In the 1930s three large college-like buildings were constructed near the present site of the Munson Hospital parking deck and the Grand Traverse Pavilions. These buildings were demolished in 1995 because they were deemed "incompatible with reuse."
Long before the advent of drug therapy
Psychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
in the 1950s, Munson was a firm believer in the “beauty is therapy” philosophy. Patients were treated through kindness
Kindness
Kindness is the act or the state of being kind, being marked by good and charitable behaviour, pleasant disposition, and concern for others. It is known as a virtue, and recognized as a value in many cultures and religions ....
, comfort
Comfort
Comfort may refer to:*Comfort , by the rock group Failure*Comfort *Comfort Air, German airline*Comfort food*Comfort noise, artificial background noise used in radio and wireless communications to fill the silent time in a transmission*Comfort object, an object used to provide psychological...
, pleasure
Pleasure
Pleasure describes the broad class of mental states that humans and other animals experience as positive, enjoyable, or worth seeking. It includes more specific mental states such as happiness, entertainment, enjoyment, ecstasy, and euphoria...
, and beautiful flowers provided year-round by the asylum's own greenhouses and the variety of trees Munson planted on the grounds. Restraints, such as the straitjacket
Straitjacket
A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with overlong sleeves and is typically used to restrain a person who may otherwise cause harm to themselves or others. Once the arms are inserted into the straitjacket's sleeves, they are then crossed across the chest...
, were forbidden. Also, as part of the “work is therapy” philosophy, the asylum provided opportunities for patients to gain a sense of purpose through farming, furniture construction, fruit canning, and other trades that kept the institution fully self-sufficient. The asylum farm began in 1885 with the purchase of some milk cows and within a decade grew to include pigs, chickens, milk and meat cows, and many vegetable fields. In the 1910s-30s, the farm was home to a world champion milk cow, Traverse Colantha Walker. Her grave is at the end of the dirt trail between the farm and the asylum. The farm closed in the late 1950s, and most of the farm buildings were destroyed by the state in the mid 1970s. Two large barns (constructed in 1901 and 1932) still stand on the south side of the hospital complex. There are plans to renovate these historic structures, though nothing has been done yet.
The asylum also produced its own electricity and heat. In 1893, a shop building was built directly behind the center of building 50 (This was demolished in 1949 after being replaced by a larger power plant on the south side of the asylum grounds). The shop building generated steam to heat the asylum, and many of the steam tunnels that ran between the main building and shop still exist. However, the newer power plant, which is still standing, is to be renovated and turned into office space.
While the hospital was established for the care of the mentally ill, its use expanded during outbreaks of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
, typhoid, diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
, influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
, and polio. It also cared for the elderly, served as a rehab for drug addicts, and was used to train nurses. During the mid-late 1980's, the institution saw a heavy influx of drug users who sought relief from their addictions. After Munson’s retirement, James Decker Munson Hospital was established in his honor on the grounds in 1926, and was operated by the state well after his death and into the 1950s. It was then replaced by Munson Medical Center
Munson Medical Center
Munson Medical Center is a regional medical referral center located in Traverse City, Michigan, serving patients from 32 counties in Northern Michigan and in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It has 391 inpatient beds, and nearly 400 physicians representing 41 specialties...
in the 1950's, the largest hospital in northern Michigan and one of the largest in the state. A portrait of Dr. Munson hangs inside the main lobby of Munson Medical Center.
With the increasing success of drug therapies in the 1970s, many mental patients improved sufficiently that by the latter half of the decade the Kirkbride and the other Victorian buildings were vacant. This, in addition to changes in mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
care philosophy, the decline of institutionalization, and cuts in funding, forced the closure of the Traverse City Regional Psychiatric Hospital in 1989, with a loss of over 200 jobs to the local economy.
Future
Starting in 2000, The Minervini Group began negotiating with the Grand Traverse Commons Redevelopment Corporation and secured an agreement to renovate the historic buildings, which were in need of a major renovation. Their efforts have led to the gradual but successful preservation and re-useAdaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
of the former Building 50 as part of The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, a residential and commercial development. By 2005, the southernmost wing and Hall 20 (Phase One) were fully completed and in use. The 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) Mercato Phase of Building 50 was finished by fall 2008. Other buildings on the site are being renovated for new uses including an urban winery, a fair trade coffee roaster, and a brick oven bakery that opened in fall 2007. In fall 2008 the Minervini group began renovation of some of the cottages, three of which will become a hotel. Currently, apartments on the upper floors of building 50 are for sale. Munson Medical Center is currently renovating a 1893 cottage close to its parking deck into a second hospitality house. The north wing of Building 50 is to be renovated in 2009. As of June 2009, progress has taken place in the cottages slated to become a hotel.The hotel has stalled with no buyers making a commitment some of the cottages lay vacant.
External links
- Angels in the Archicture, by Heidi Johnson — Information, history, photographs
- Heidi Johnson — Photography
- Beauty in Ruin - The Asylum Nudes, by Geoffrey Vail Brown — Figure studies shot within the prerestored sections of the Asylum (contains nudity)
- Kirkbride Buildings — Information, history, photographs
- HDR Photography by Geoffrey V. Brown — High Dynamic Range & Infrared Architectural Images
- Rolling Centuries Historical Farm — Preservation efforts for the historic barns
- Munson Medical Center
- Grand Traverse Pavilions — An assisted living center that shares the Grand Traverse Commons and some of the former hospital cottages.
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/lomeranger/sets/72157600358148532/ - Fine art photography of the asylum