The Clinton Valley Center (CVC), originally called the Eastern Michigan Asylum for the Insane, was a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

located at 140 Elizabeth Lake Road in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Founde ...

. The facility was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974 and listed on 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 v ...

in 1981, with a decrease in its boundaries in 1986. The facility was closed in 1997 and demolished in 2000.

History

In 1873, to alleviate the overcrowding at the Kalamazoo

, the Michigan state legislature appropriated $400,000 for the construction of a second hospital in eastern Michigan. Cities in the area were requested to bid for the project, and Pontiac won out over Detroit and other cities. The architect for the original main hospital was

Elijah E. Myers Elijah E. Myers (December 29, 1832 – March 5, 1909) was a leading architect of government buildings in the latter half of the 19th century, and the only architect to design the capitol buildings of three U.S. states, the Michigan State Capito ...

, who also served as the architect for the current Michigan State Capitol in

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

. The asylum opened its doors five years later, on August 1, 1878, and began treating 222 patients. The original superintendent, Henry Mills Hurd, introduced multiple innovations in psychiatric care, including discouraging restraints, occupational therapy, and recreational activities. Both the campus size and number of patients slowly grew, as the hospital was repeatedly enlarged between 1882 and 1895 (also designed by Myers), with more additions in 1906, 1914, and 1938. In 1911, the hospital changed its name to Pontiac State Hospital. During the 1950s, the hospital experienced its peak of approximately 3,100 residing patients. The facility was renamed the Clinton Valley Center in 1973, and by the later 1970s the number of patients had declined to around 800. Due to a decreasing number of patients, the facility was closed in 1997 by the State of Michigan with only 200 patients. The facility was demolished in 2000; a subdivision now stands on the site of the old hospital.

Description

The campus of the Clinton Valley Center contained 44 structures, many of which were extensions of the original 1878 hospital. The 1878 structure was a -story red-brick structure with a center building for offices and staff, and two wings for male and female patients. The building had a steeply pitched slate roof with multiple towers, and wood and metal cornices. The building resembled a typical Kirkbride model. The 1882 additions were designed by Charles Anderson to match the original construction. The 1906 and 1914 additions were brick hipped-roof structures, and the 1938 construction added a Tudor designed building onto the front of the structure. Apart from the main hospital, other structures on the campus included the Vinton Building (1893), the Sawyer Building (1917), the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

chapel (1907) designed by the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

firm of Smith, Hinchman and Grylls.

References

External links

Clinton Valley Center: An Album of History and Images
{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1878 Victorian architecture in Michigan Italianate architecture in Michigan Buildings and structures in Pontiac, Michigan Psychiatric hospitals in Michigan Defunct hospitals in Michigan Hospitals disestablished in 1997 Kirkbride Plan hospitals Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Oakland County, Michigan Hospital buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Demolished buildings and structures in Michigan Buildings and structures demolished in 2000