Hudson River State Hospital: A Once “Progressive” Mental Institution

Clare Fitzgerald
Photo Credit: Jonathan Haeber / Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0
Photo Credit: Jonathan Haeber / Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0

In the late-1800s, psychiatric hospitals were popping up across the United States. That includes New York, where the Hudson River State Hospital for the Insane was opened after Utica Psychiatric Center hit capacity. While initially a busy facility, it later shut down due to advancements in the treatment of mental health issues.

Construction of the Hudson River State Hospital

In January 1867, the members of a committee assigned to scout a location for the hospital returned to Governor Reuben Fenton to say they’d found the perfect spot: a 296-acre swath of land in Dutchess County, north of Poughkeepsie. It was formerly part of the estates of James Roosevelt, son of President Franklin Roosevelt, and William A. Davis.

Swimming pool filled with dirty water and covered in graffiti
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Bathtub in the corner of a room
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Graffiti-covered room in the Hudson River State Hospital
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Frederick Clarke Withers was tasked with designing the hospital, while Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmstead were charged with the grounds. The idea was to build the facility according to the Kirkbride plan, a popular theory for the design of mental institutions, which stated that environment and exposure to air circulation and natural light were crucial to a patient’s treatment.

Window in the middle of a room
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Chair lit with red light
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Derelict room with its door open
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Construction continued past the hospital’s opening on October 18, 1871. In fact, it went 25 years over schedule and was only halted when the state couldn’t come up with enough money to continue funding it. As such, Withers’ original design was never completed.

Office filled with broken furniture and debris
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Aerial view of the exterior of Hudson State River Hospital
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Large room brightly-lit with windows
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Hudson River State Hospital consisted of a host of buildings, the most prominent of which was the main, administrative building – better known as the Kirkbride. It featured the first known usage of High Victorian Gothic architecture in an American institutional building, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

Metal piping and walkways at the Hudson State River Hospital
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Water-filled room at the Hudson River State Hospital
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Large room littered in debris at the Hudson River State Hospital
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Other buildings included patient wings, which spanned off from the Kirkbride; Roman Catholic and Presbyterian churches; a morgue; a powerhouse; the Herman B. Snow Rehabilitation Center, which offered recreational activities for patients; Ryon Hall, which housed the facility’s most violent patients; and the Clarence O. Cheney Building, which held doctor’s offices and medical examination rooms.

Treating the mentally ill

Hudson River State Hospital housed 40 patients when it first opened in 1871, and at its peak in the 1950s was home to as many as 6,000. According to numerous sources, it wasn’t just those suffering from diagnosed mental health issues that resided there. Those struggling with job loss, mental exhaustion and marital difficulties were also admitted, along with injured war veterans and men accused of serious crimes, who used it to avoid prosecution.

Filing cabinets covered in graffiti
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Piping beneath the Hudson River State Hospital
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Two metal openings
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The facility would go on to treat those suffering from tuberculosis, following the construction of a Tubercular hospital on the grounds in 1951.

Bowling lanes covered in debris at the Hudson River State Hospital
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Floor covered in books
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Lifeguard chair in a graffiti-covered room
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During the first half of its operations, the hospital was considered very progressive with its medical procedures. Some of its “modern” treatments for mental health issues included tub therapy, wherein patients were forced to sit in tubs of hot water for weeks and months on end; electroshock therapy; and lobotomies.

Room dimly-lit by a window
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Kitchen in the Hudson River State Hospital covered in debris
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Dark room lit by neon lights
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In the 1960s, a large fire destroyed one of the hospital wings and threatened to spread to the Kirkbride. However, it was halted in a connecting hallway. While the section was rebuilt, some of the roof beams still showed evidence of the blaze.

Closure of the Hudson River State Hospital

As new and more humane psychiatric treatments were introduced, the need for facilities like the Hudson River State Hospital decreased. In the late-1970s, the hospital administration shut down its two main wings, and by the 1990s more and more of the hospital had been abandoned. By 1994, it was consolidated with another Dutchess County facility, the Hudson River Psychiatric Center.

Old printer on a desk
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Hallway with peeling turquoise paint at the Hudson River State Hospital
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Empty dresser in a derelict room
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Hudson River State Hospital officially closed its doors in 2003, and quickly fell into a state of disrepair. It soon became the victim of suspicious fires, and began to show signs of neglect, including peeling paint, graffiti and crumbling infrastructure.

Transformation by the Hudson Heritage project

The state of New York sold the Hudson River State Hospital, after which it switched hands numerous times. In November 2013, it was sold to an unnamed buyer, and has since begun its transition into a residential and commercial area. Hudson Heritage, LLC, has begun a $300 million mixed-project to turn the space into commercial space, with 750 residential units, a conference center, a hotel and medical office space.

Three bathroom sink along a wall
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Old calculator atop a circular wooden table
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Graffiti-covered tiled wall
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Despite it currently being owned by someone looking to develop it – and the fact that many of its original buildings have since been demolished – urban explorers continue to sneak onto the site. It has also been the site of numerous fires: one in 2007, the result of a lightning strike, and another in April 2018, which has been deemed an act of arson.