Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum facts for kids
Weston State Hospital
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The Hospital's main building in 2006
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Location | Asylum Drive, Weston, West Virginia |
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Area | 26.5 acres (10.7 ha) |
Built | Constructed 1858-1881. Opened to patients 1864. |
Architect | Richard Snowden Andrews |
Architectural style | Gothic Revival Tudor Revival Kirkbride Plan |
NRHP reference No. | 78002805 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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Added to NRHP | April 19, 1978 |
Designated NHL | June 21, 1990 |
The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, subsequently the Weston State Hospital, was a Kirkbride psychiatric hospital that was operated from 1864 until 1994 by the government of the U.S. state of West Virginia, in the city of Weston. Weston State Hospital got its name in 1913 which was used while patients occupied it, but was changed back to its originally commissioned, unused name, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, after being reopened as a tourist attraction.
Designed by Gothic Revival and Tudor Revival styles by Baltimore architect Richard Snowden Andrews, it was constructed from 1858 to 1881. Originally designed to hold 250 people, it became overcrowded in the 1950s with 2,400 patients. It was forcibly closed in 1994 due to changes in patient treatment. The hospital was bought by Joe Jordan in 2007, and is opened for tours and other events to raise money for its restoration. The hospital's main building is claimed to be one of the largest hand-cut stone masonry buildings in the United States, and the second largest hand-cut sandstone building in the world, with the only bigger one being in the Moscow Kremlin. As Weston Hospital Main Building, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990.
See also
In Spanish: Asilo de lunáticos Trans-Allegheny para niños