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Cleveland State Hospital

By Jessica Carmosino
Cleveland State Hospital Main Administration Building, 1921
Cleveland State Hospital Main Administration Building, 1921 This photo from December 28, 1921 shows the front of the main administration building. The black marker on the upper part of the building is from the Cleveland Press as it was necessary for the picture to look contrasted enough to show in newsprint. Source: Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections. Date: 1921

The Cleveland State Hospital, also known as Northern Ohio Lunatic Asylum, The Newburgh Asylum, The Cleveland Asylum for the Insane, and even referred to as "Turney Tech" on some occasions, was an institution that arose out of a growing need to send the mentally ill away to a facility to be treated and hopefully cured. The hospital was located on Turney Road (in what is now Cleveland) on land donated by the family of President James A. Garfield, and was completed in 1855.

Like most of the State Hospitals that were established at the time, the Cleveland State Hospital had an imposing facade and was designed in what is now called the "Kirkbride style." Named after Thomas Kirkbride, he was one of the minds that helped create the state hospital as an institution. The hospital had a large impressive main building with wings to the left and right branching out, sprawling across many acres. The early years of the hospital had a more close-knit atmosphere between patients and staff, which stemmed from the philosophy of state hospitals trying to emulate the parlors of upper class houses. Once it was clear that patients could not be cured quickly and would stay for many years, more structure and expansion was necessary.

In 1872 a fire struck the Cleveland State Hospital forcing them to build a more substantial building. Shortly after that, the first reports of overcrowding were brought to light. The Cleveland State Hospital was not the only institution that saw these kinds of problems though. The hospital tried to stay on par with the other hospitals around the country in terms of treatment and care. The improper use of electroshock therapy was just one of the more inhumane methods employed in institutions dealing with mental illness. There was a famous article written by Albert Q. Maisel that was featured in Life Magazine called "Bedlam 1946" that made the treatment of patients at Cleveland State Hospital (as well as hospitals in Pennsylvania and to a lesser extent New York) known to a national audience.

The later years of the Cleveland State Hospital showed significant improvement in care. The state of Ohio phased out the Cleveland State Hospital, and in 1975 it became known as the Cleveland Developmental Center. The Cleveland Developmental Center was a short-lived care center for the developmentally disabled. This followed the national trend of deinstitutionalization following World War II. The community would now take over the care of mentally ill patients and see to their well being in the way that the state hospital as an institution was unable to do. The building was eventually demolished in 1977.

Images

Cleveland State Hospital Main Administration Building, 1921
Cleveland State Hospital Main Administration Building, 1921 This photo from December 28, 1921 shows the front of the main administration building. The black marker on the upper part of the building is from the Cleveland Press as it was necessary for the picture to look contrasted enough to show in newsprint. Source: Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections. Date: 1921
Cleveland State Hospital Main Administration Building, 1972
Cleveland State Hospital Main Administration Building, 1972 This photo shows that the exterior of the Cleveland State Hospital had not changed very much in the years it was functioning. Taken on December 4, 1972, this photo gives a view of the back of the main administration building. Source: Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections. Date: 1972
Ward B Living Quarters
Ward B Living Quarters This photo from October 20, 1927 shows what was either a porch or sun room, which was transformed into part of Ward B. This is a good visual of how close beds were placed together in a ward and how the overcrowding was dealt with by the hospital administration. Source: Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections. Date: 1927
Hospital Nurse Cares for Patient's Hair
Hospital Nurse Cares for Patient's Hair This photograph taken on May 18, 1940 harkens back to a time in the hospital where there was more care for the patients, and care was a lot more personal. It is important to realize that the poor treatment of patients was not something that happened continually, yet it happened nonetheless and needed to be remedied. Source: Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections. Date: 1940
Strong Man Room in Ward E
Strong Man Room in Ward E This photo from 1951 may or may not have been taken during Al Ostrow's investigation of the Cleveland State Hospital. The room pictured here was called a strong room located in Ward E where wooden bars on the window had been replaced by piano wire. The piano wire was often called a "psychiatric screen." Source: Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections. Date: 1951
Cleveland State Hospital Aerial View, 1951
Cleveland State Hospital Aerial View, 1951 To give a sense of how Kirkbride hospitals were built, this is an aerial view from 1951. On either side of the main building would be men's and women's wards, since it was deemed inappropriate to have mixed wards. The wards on the farthest edges of each side housed more progressively psychotic patients so that it would be harder to reach the main building, which was the main exit. Source: Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections. Date: 1951
Nurse Inspecting an Electroshock Machine
Nurse Inspecting an Electroshock Machine Pictured here, a nurse inspects an electroshock machine on October 31, 1951, which may or may not have aligned with Al Ostrow's investigation of the hospital. This is an example of the cutting edge treatment used for mental illness at the time, when the focus was placed on curing all patients of their ailments. Source: Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections. Date: 1951
Ward C Patient Gazes Out Restroom Window
Ward C Patient Gazes Out Restroom Window As a part of Bus Bergen's investigation of the Cleveland State Hospital, this photo was taken on October 19, 1955. The identity of the man pictured here is not known, but he was a patient from Ward C who spent his days in that window sill looking out on the world below. Source: Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections. Date: 1955
Overcrowding in Ward C
Overcrowding in Ward C This picture taken on August 3, 1962 shows that despite the hospital condition reports made by Bergen and Ostrow, the overcrowding issue did not go away quickly. The patients pictured are from Ward C, and often sat around in the hallways because they had nothing to do to keep them occupied. Source: Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections. Date: 1962
Mental Hygiene Director Speaks With a Patient
Mental Hygiene Director Speaks With a Patient The Mental Hygiene Director Martin Janis (or James) pictured here, talks to a patient as he inspects the hospital on July 30, 1963. This image shows the movement towards deinstitutionalizing patients and moving them to newer and better facilities. Source: Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections. Date: 1963

Location

4340 Turney Rd, Cleveland, OH

Metadata

Related Resources

  1. "Cleveland State Hospital." Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. case.edu/ech/articles/c/cleveland-state-hospital

Citation Info

Jessica Carmosino , “Cleveland State Hospital,” Cleveland Historical, accessed September 12, 2024, https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/576.
Published Feb 5, 2013. Last updated Sep 27, 2023.

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