The New York State Inebriate Asylum, later known as Binghamton State Hospital, was the first institution designed and constructed to treat

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

as a mental disorder in the United States. Located in Binghamton, NY, its imposing Gothic Revival exterior was designed by New York

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Isaac G. Perry Isaac Gale Perry (1822–1904), was a prolific New York State architect and builder. His works include New York State Inebriate Asylum, Monday Afternoon Club, Phelps Mansion and the First National Bank of Oxford. Life and career Bo ...

and construction was completed in 1864. The building was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1997. In 2015, Binghamton University announced it had taken stewardship of the building and will proceed with plans for rehabilitation of the building.

Description and history

The former New York State Inebriate Asylum building is located high on a prominent hilltop in eastern Binghamton, at 425 Robinson Street. It is a large and imposing Gothic Revival stone building, built according to the principles of the

Kirkbride Plan The Kirkbride Plan was a system of mental asylum design advocated by American psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride (1809–1883) in the mid-19th century. The asylums built in the Kirkbride design, often referred to as Kirkbride Buildings (or si ...

for large institutions. When built it was T-shaped, with a central core designed to house administrative functions, wings projecting to the sides for housing patients, and service functions in a wing projecting behind the administrative core. The service wing has since been demolished. The asylum was chartered in 1854, but site work and construction on this campus did not begin until 1857, in what were then the rural outskirts of Binghamton. The asylum admitted its first patients in 1864, but the building was not completed for another two years. It was the first large-scale public facility in which alcoholism was treated as a medical condition. It served this function until 1879, when it was converted to a mental hospital. The facilities were significantly enlarged in the 1880s, with the addition of many buildings that have since been demolished. The building remained in use as a mental hospital or psychiatric services center until 1993, when it was closed due to inadequate maintenance. In 2008, SUNY Upstate Medical University took over the vacant building, with plans rehabilitate the main building and to establish a satellite campus on the grounds. Due to a general economic downturn, the university never developed the building beyond stabilizing its condition. In 2015, Binghamton University announced it had taken stewardship of the building and published plans for rehabilitation of the building.

References

External links

2013 interior and exterior photos

4 data pages
on New York State Inebriate Asylum, at

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

American Insane Asylums. American Psychosurgery.
{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1864 Psychiatric hospitals in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Broome County, New York History of Broome County, New York National Register of Historic Places in Broome County, New York National Historic Landmarks in New York (state) State University of New York Upstate Medical University