Accession No. RARE.2023.0057: Purchased, 2022 August
[identification of item], Photograph Album of Buildings and Grounds of the Binghamton State Hospital (Binghamton, New York), SPEC.RARE.MMS.0370, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
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Processed by: Trica McEldowney, 2023 October; Finding aid written by: Trica McEldowney, 2023 October
Dr. Joseph Edward Turner received a charter to found the New York State Inebriate Asylum in Binghamton, New York, in 1854. This was the first psychiatric hospital in the United States established specifically to treat excessive alcohol use as a mental disorder. Architect Isaac G. Perry was hired to design and oversee the construction of the initial building for the hospital. His design was a three-story Gothic Revival structure with crenellated towers that resembled a castle and embodied elements of the Kirkbride Plan—a system of psychiatric hospital design in which floor plans featured numerous wings that sprawled outward from a central structure. Construction on the building took place from 1854 until 1866.
In 1870, the hospital shifted its focus from only treating men diagnosed with having an alcohol use disorder towards treating men and women diagnosed with having one or more of a variety of mental disorders. To reflect this change, the hospital was renamed the Binghamton Asylum for the Chronic Insane. Perry’s original structure, called the Main Building as the facility grew, was renovated to accommodate both male and female patients. Additional buildings were constructed in the 1880s and into the early 20th century to house the additional patients and staff. Utility buildings were also constructed during this time to aid in the functions of the hospital. Perry designed several of these additional buildings (Assembly Hall, North Building, and East Building).
The hospital was renamed the Binghamton State Hospital in 1890 and maintained that name until 1974, when it was renamed the Binghamton Psychiatric Center. By the 1990s, many of the facility's structures had been demolished. The Main Building, which had not housed patients since the 1970s, was closed in 1993 when the façade on the south side of the structure collapsed.
The Photograph Album of Buildings and Grounds of the Binghamton State Hospital (Binghamton, New York) contains 47 silver gelatin prints of various buildings and the surrounding grounds that were a part of Binghamton State Hospital. The photographs are dated 1910-1918. The dates for this album are derived from the construction and renovation dates of the photographed buildings. These dates were used to identify the period of time in which all buildings would have existed and in the state documented in the photographs.
Forty-three of the photographs are of building exteriors. Most of these are of a single building, though four photographs are taken from a distance and show multiple buildings and the surrounding grounds. Four photographs are of building interiors. Several photographs also include people; most appear to be personnel of the hospital, though it is possible that some of the individuals pictured were patients.
The creator of the album is unknown and did not label the photographs. Photograph descriptions were generated by the collection processer. Unidentified photographs have the word "unidentified" in the title provided in the container list. The container list reflects the order of the photographs in the album.
Forms part of the Herman J. Albrecht Library of Historical Architecture.