Agnews Developmental Center was a psychiatric and medical care facility, located in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

. In 1885, the center, originally known as "The Great Asylum for the Insane", was established as a facility for the care of the mentally ill. The main structure, a red brick edifice, was located on land near Agnew's Village, which later became part of Santa Clara. By the early twentieth century, Agnews boasted the largest institutional population in the South San Francisco Bay area, and was served by its own train station which stood at the west end of Palm Drive across Lafayette Street; the station building remained until vandalism and fire precipitated its demolition in the 1990s. In 1926, the center was expanded to include a second campus about to the east in San Jose (). Individuals with

developmental disabilities Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

were first admitted to a special rehabilitation program in 1965. Programs for the mentally ill were discontinued in 1972. From then to 2011, when the property was sold, the center was used for the care and treatment of persons with developmental disabilities.

Early years

Prior to 1906, the Agnews State Hospital, constructed in 1885, was modeled after 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 ...

and designed by architect

Theodore Lenzen Theodore Lenzen (1833–1912) was a Prussian-born American architect. He was prolific with architectural designs in San Jose, California, during the late 19th-century. He was part of the firm Theodore Lenzen & Son, with his son Louis T. Lenzen. ...

. This building was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and Agnews became infamous as the site of the

Santa Clara Valley The Santa Clara Valley is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends 90 miles (145 km) south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered on the west by the Santa Cruz Mountains and on the east ...

's greatest loss of life resulting from the quake. The ''Daily Palo Alto'' reported: "The position of the people in Agnews is critical; a number of insane persons having escaped from the demolished asylum, are running at random about the country." 117 patients and staff were killed and buried in mass graves on the site. The main building and some others were irreparably damaged. Following this disaster, Agnews was rebuilt in the

Mediterranean Revival architecture Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references from Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colon ...

styles of

Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

—

Spanish Colonial Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...

, in a layout resembling a college campus of two-story buildings. It re-opened circa 1911 as ''Agnews State Mental Hospital''. The facility was a small self-contained town, including a multitude of construction trade "shops", a farm which raised pigs and vegetable crops, a steam generating power plant for heating the buildings by steam, and even a fire department.

West campus closure

The original west campus was closed in 1998 as part of a plan to reduce and eventually close the center. When the west campus closed, the use of the land was the subject of local controversy. In April 1997, it was announced the state would sell an parcel of the campus to Sun Microsystems for its corporate headquarters and R&D campus. Some objected to the arranged sale of this prime public land to a profitable corporation at the peak of a local economic and real-estate boom, while others valued the presence of a prominent high-tech employer. Also at issue was the preservation of and public access to historic Agnews Developmental Center buildings. Sun agreed to restore four of the historic buildings (the auditorium, the clock tower, the superintendent's villa, and the administration building) and to keep some of the facilities available for public use. An outdoor exhibit open to the public displays information and photographs regarding the center and its history. In addition to the Sun deal, the Rivermark

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

was allocated for a variety of residential, retail, public school, and open space uses. The Agnews site was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

(under the name "Agnews Insane Asylum") on August 13, 1997. Sun was acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2010; the campus continues to be used as an Oracle R&D facility and conference center.

East campus closure

In March 2009, the last patient moved out of the east campus and the residential facility was closed. The east campus provided outpatient clinic services through April 2011. In July 2011, the Regional Project of the Bay Area and the Community State Staff Administration moved to

Campbell Campbell may refer to: People Surname * Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell Given name * Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer * Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...

and continued providing support to patients in the local area. With the final sale of the land pending, the east campus was vacated and the land was turned over to the Department of General Services. In July 2014, the City of San Jose and the Santa Clara Unified School District purchased the property from the State of California for $80 million with the intent to build a K-8, High School, and city park.

In popular media

The 1984 film '' Birdy'' by

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Alan Parker Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English filmmaker. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After about ten years of filming adverts ...

used the center for the facility where the title character played by

Matthew Modine Matthew Avery Modine (born March 22, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker, who rose to prominence through his role as U.S. Marine Private/Sergeant J.T. "Joker" Davis in ''Full Metal Jacket''. His other film roles include the title character ...

is incarcerated. The 1989 horror film ''

The Dead Pit ''The Dead Pit'' is a 1989 American horror film co-written and directed by Brett Leonard, in his directorial debut. Cheryl Lawson stars as a mental patient who must defeat an undead serial killer who previously worked at the asylum, played by Dann ...

'' by director Brett Leonard was shot at the eastern campus. The punk rock band Green Day recorded the music video for its 1994 song " Basket Case" at Agnews.

References

External links

California Department of Developmental Services

U.S. National Park Service
''New Campus, New Home''
a video on the construction of the Sun Microsystems campus and preservation of the Agnews buildings * * * * {{authority control Psychiatric hospitals in California History of Santa Clara County, California National Register of Historic Places in Santa Clara County, California Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in California Buildings and structures in Santa Clara, California Sun Microsystems Hospitals established in 1885 Hospital buildings completed in 1911 Kirkbride Plan hospitals Mission Revival architecture in California Spanish Revival architecture in California Hospital buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in California Hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area Hospitals in Santa Clara County, California Buildings and structures burned in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake 1885 establishments in California