Traverse City State Hospital facts for kids
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Northern Michigan Asylum
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 Location in Michigan
Location in the United States
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| Location | Bounded by C & O RR tracks, Division and 11th Sts., Elmwood Ave., Orange and Red Drs., Traverse City, Michigan |
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| Area | 135 acres (55 ha) |
| Built | 1885 |
| Architect | Gordon W. Lloyd |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 78001499 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 03, 1978 |
The Traverse City State Hospital of Traverse City, Michigan is a decommissioned psychiatric hospital that has been variously known as the Northern Michigan Asylum and the Traverse City Regional Psychiatric Hospital. It is the last Kirkbride Building of Michigan's original four left in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1985.
Current status
Over the next decade, the community struggled with plans for reuse of the hospital grounds. In 1993, the property was transferred from the state to the Grand Traverse Commons Redevelopment Corporation. Some of the less historic buildings were demolished. Several redevelopment plans were proposed, but nothing came to fruition until 2000, when the Minervini Group began negotiating with the Grand Traverse Commons Redevelopment Corporation and secured an agreement to renovate the historic buildings. Their efforts have led to the gradual but successful preservation and re-use of the former Building 50 as part of The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, a residential and commercial development. As of 2014 these buildings and cottages are occupied or being close to completion on the Minervini Groups property of the state hospital. Building 50, 56, 58, 60, 61, 63, 67, and 69 are all occupied. Cottages 19, 20, and 36 are all occupied. The farmstead which is not part of the Minervini Group; the owners are Garfield Township Parks and Recreation. But the visitor center and botanical garden are all volunteered. Projects that are done turning one of the former granary building into a pavilion, however the basement still exist under the concrete floor. Another building was turned into a visitor center and one of the two cathedral barns has been done. The barn will increase event space in the park. Projects in 2015 include a reflection pool using a former silo foundation and planting more gardens. Another project is turning a partly burnt horse barn into a wall garden using the stone foundation left over.
Description
The Traverse City State Hospital contains multiple buildings located on a large rolling campus. Many of the buildings are constructed from matching buff brick. Building 50, the visual centerpiece of the complex, is a three-story building on a stone foundation containing 386,740 square feet of space. Towers, bracketed eaves, and dormers demonstrate a Victorian ambiance.
Gallery
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Roof of Building 50
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Rear of Building 50
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House on grounds
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House on grounds
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Outbuilding
