Difference between revisions of "Portal:Featured Article Of The Week"

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|Title= East Louisiana State Hospital
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|Title= Boston State Hospital
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|Body= An act of the legislative session of 1847 established "The Insane Asylum of the State of Louisiana" in Jackson and provided, among other things, for the construction of the Asylum's physical plant. The Asylum's Board of Administrators appointed an architect, a Mr. Gibbens. to draw up the plans. He was specifically told not to design something that would look like a prison. Gibbens came up with the design of the Center Building with its wings. The Board of Administrators purchased a 250-acre tract known as "Flowery Hill" a short distance from the business section of Jackson, separated from the town by a small stream.
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|Body= The Boston State Hospital – originally called the Boston Lunatic Asylum – was founded in South Boston in 1839. By the 1880s, new ideas about the care of the mentally ill emphasized the importance of fresh air, hard work, and separation from the adverse influences (both social and environmental) of city life, an approach that was referred to as “moral treatment.” Thus, when the time came to move out of the old and overcrowded facilities in South Boston, the Asylum’s leaders looked to West Roxbury – at that time a semi-rural area that had only recently been incorporated into the city of Boston – as an appropriate setting for a new hospital.
  
On July 5, 1847, Robert Perry signed a contract with the Board for the building of the Asylum, and President David Shattuck of Centenary College signed as security for Perry. The Board requested that the West Wing be completed by December 1, 1847, but there were delays due to bad weather and the building was not ready for occupancy until the fall of 1848. The East Wing was not finished until 1849. Center Building was ready for use in 1854, but it was never completed according to Gibbens' plans. The rear of the building was to have extended another hundred feet and to have contained a central kitchen, storerooms, and other facilities. Although the Asylum's early superintendents frequently asked the Legislature for funds to complete Center Building, they were never provided.  [[East Louisiana State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
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Beginning in 1884, some Asylum residents were moved to the former almshouse at Austin Farm, just across Morton Street from the present Boston Nature Center, where the Harvard Commons development stands today. In 1892, looking for more room for both buildings and farmland, the City purchased the 35-acre Pierce Farm, along Walk Hill and Canterbury Streets – part of which land is now the western end of the BNC. A few years later, the City bought another parcel of land, adjoining Pierce Farm and Canterbury Street, which now includes much of the Clark Cooper Community Gardens and other areas in the central part of the BNC.
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It was soon decided that Austin Farm would house women, while Pierce Farm became the “Department for Men” of the recently renamed Boston Insane Hospital. The new buildings at Pierce Farm, designed by city architect Edmund March Wheelwright, opened in 1895, and a few additional farm buildings were added over the following years.  [[Boston State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
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Revision as of 04:21, 25 September 2022

Featured Article Of The Week

Boston State Hospital


BostonSH.png

The Boston State Hospital – originally called the Boston Lunatic Asylum – was founded in South Boston in 1839. By the 1880s, new ideas about the care of the mentally ill emphasized the importance of fresh air, hard work, and separation from the adverse influences (both social and environmental) of city life, an approach that was referred to as “moral treatment.” Thus, when the time came to move out of the old and overcrowded facilities in South Boston, the Asylum’s leaders looked to West Roxbury – at that time a semi-rural area that had only recently been incorporated into the city of Boston – as an appropriate setting for a new hospital.

Beginning in 1884, some Asylum residents were moved to the former almshouse at Austin Farm, just across Morton Street from the present Boston Nature Center, where the Harvard Commons development stands today. In 1892, looking for more room for both buildings and farmland, the City purchased the 35-acre Pierce Farm, along Walk Hill and Canterbury Streets – part of which land is now the western end of the BNC. A few years later, the City bought another parcel of land, adjoining Pierce Farm and Canterbury Street, which now includes much of the Clark Cooper Community Gardens and other areas in the central part of the BNC.

It was soon decided that Austin Farm would house women, while Pierce Farm became the “Department for Men” of the recently renamed Boston Insane Hospital. The new buildings at Pierce Farm, designed by city architect Edmund March Wheelwright, opened in 1895, and a few additional farm buildings were added over the following years. Click here for more...