Grounds of the New York State Asylum for the Insane, c. 1876.
Frederick Law Olmsted was responsible for the landscaping of the New York State Asylum for the Insane (now the Buffalo Psychiatric Center) at 400 Forest Avenue, Buffalo. The imposing facility was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and constructed between 1871 and 1895. It occupied all of the land between Elmwood Avenue and Grant Street from Forest Avenue to the Scajaquada Creek., over 200 acres, and included a working farm which provided both employment and sustenance to the patients. The asylum grounds, along with Forest Lawn cemetery to the East, considerably extended the greenspace of The Park (now Delaware Park). The plantations of the main buildings provided them with a quiet setting and buffered them from the bustle of the city. The northern (farm) portion of the site become the grounds of the campus of Buffalo State College in 1927, when the then State Normal School relocated from Porter avenue. Other significant portions of Olmsted's plan for the site, as well as major sections of Richardson's buildings, have been destroyed by parking lots and modern construction, including the structures which house the present Buffalo Psychiatric Center. Landscape fragments do remain, including parts of walks and drives, and some original plantings. The portion most intact is the frontage between the main Richardson building and Forest avenue.
The Richardson buildings were vacant for many years, improperly secured against vandalism and weather, despite their inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1986. Three buildings of the structure was demolished in 1969 to provide space for a new youth treatment facility, and the last patients were moved from the Richardson-designed buildings in 1974. Repeated efforts to have New York State, as the owner, maintain and restore the property proved frustrating. Finally, a lawsuit was filed by the Preservation Coalition of Erie County (now, Preservation Buffalo Niagara), forcing the State to commit significant funds for rehabilitation.
The New York State Asylum for the Insane, circa 1906.
Early in 2003, New York State announced the commitment of $7 million in stabilization funds to begin that process. Over the next two years, about $5 million of that fund was expended to fence and secure the site, provide protection against water infiltration, including some roof and gutter repairs, cover window openings and seal the ground floor against illegal entry.
Continuing public and political pressure caused the State to dedicate $100 million dollars to complete the rehabilitation. A public benefit corporation, the Richardson Center Corporation, was established in 2006 to administer part of the complex. Of the 91 acres at the site under the control of the Office of Mental Health, about 40 acres are available for rehabilitation. Essentially, the Corporation's portion is the southernmost part of the grounds. The Office of Mental Health will retain control of 41 acres, continuing to operate its treatment facilities in that portion.
Of note, part of the State funding and about 10 acres of the complex were subsequently used to help construct the Burchfield Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College and additional funds were repurposed to help fund the new visitor center at the Dwight Martin House in Parkside. That has left just $76.5 million of the $100 million dollar appropriation for use at the Richardson complex. Late in 2007, an Historic Structures Report for the complex was released. With another $2 million in funding, additional repairs were initiated in that year, including masonry stablization, additional roof repairs. In 2009, a draft Master Plan for the site was released, envisioning a mixed use campus, to include an Architectural Center, a regional Visitors Center, hotel space and meeting/conference facilities. A fire in 2010 caused considerable damage to portions of the structure, highlighting the need for still better security and urgency of process.
While progress is now being made to rehabilitate the Richardson structures and Olmsted-Vaux grounds, given the very long history of neglect of these buildings and their landscape there is certainly ample reason for the public to remain particularly watchful of the project.
The New York State Asylum for the Insane from Delaware Park, circa 1908.
Copyright 1996-2010 Stanton M. Broderick