Susquehanna Township near Harrisburg in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Harrisburg State Hospital

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, September 28, 2016

1. Harrisburg State Hospital Marker

Inscription. First known as the "City on the Hill,” the Harrisburg State Hospital was opened in 1851 as Pennsylvania's first institution built tor the care and treatment of the mentally ill, and one of the first such facilities in the United States. By the 1840's, it became clearer that the country's "poor houses” and jails were not conducive to giving proper attention to those with emotional and mental disturbances. After meeting with success in Massachusetts, mid-19th Century social reformer Dorothea Dix (1802-1887) brought her cause to Pennsylvania by convincing the state legislature to authorize the establishment of an institution just for the psychologically disabled. Consequently, the hospital, originally known as the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Asylum was founded by an Act of the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1845 and grew as a community onto itself with beautifully landscaped grounds and farmland for the self-sufficient production of food. It was the philosophy that such an idyllic setting would protect, rather than incarcerate the patients from the disruptive influences of the outside world. The hospital would grow from

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its original 130 acres to over 1000, and to include in excess of 70 buildings, the most significant of which were designed by noted Pennsylvania architects. The campus attained further significance as it represented an important transition in hospital design from the "Kirkbride" plan where patients were housed in one large building, to that of the "Cottage" plan where the smaller buildings served as patients' residences thus reinforcing the sense of home and open space. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Harrisburg State Hospital, which has been the site of at least one major film production, continues to well serve those in need.

Erected by Harrisburg History Project.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Charity & Public Work • Science & Medicine. In addition, it is included in the Pennsylvania, The Harrisburg History Project series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1851.

Location. 40° 17.052′ N, 76° 52.623′ W. Marker is near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in Dauphin County. It is in Susquehanna Township. It can be reached from Azalea

Harrisburg State Hospital Administration Building and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, September 28, 2016

2. Harrisburg State Hospital Administration Building and Marker

Drive east of North Cameron Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 10 Azalea Drive, Harrisburg PA 17110, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in South-Central Pennsylvania, specifically in Pennsylvania Dutch Country,

and in the Susquehanna Valley.

It is also in the American Northeast

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A different marker also named Harrisburg State Hospital (approx. 0.2 miles away); Pennsylvania Farm Show (approx. 0.3 miles away); Pennsylvania State Farm Show Complex (approx. 0.4 miles away); Charles Y. Petty Sr. (approx. ¾ mile away); Camp Curtin (approx. ¾ mile away); a different marker also named Camp Curtin (approx. ¾ mile away); a different marker also named Camp Curtin (approx. ¾ mile away); Camp Curtin Memorial-Mitchell United Methodist Church

<i>Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital</i> image. Click for full size.

Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital (courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine), 1851

3. Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital

This was the frontispiece for By-laws of the Penn'a State Lunatic Hospital, at Harrisburg : with the acts of the Legislature establishing the same (1851).

(approx. ¾ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Harrisburg.

Another marker is no longer nearby. The Ladies Of Harrisburg During The Civil War (was approx. ¾ mile away but has been confirmed missing).

Regarding Harrisburg State Hospital. The hospital closed in 2006, and options for preservation and/or redevelopment are still under consideration as of 2021.

Also see . . .
1. Harrisburg State Hospital (Historic Harrisburg Association). (Submitted on January 8, 2022.)
2. Harrisburg State Hospital (Asylum Projects). Presents an extended history of the hospital dating from 1916, as well as some updated information, including identification of films and tv shows which have used the grounds.

"In 1999 Harrisburg State Hospital was used for the hospital setting in the film, Girl, Interrupted. The majority of the film was shot in the Male Convalescent Building and the Administration Building. Other various locations in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania were also used. The Harrisburg State Hospital settings were meant to resemble those of the grounds of McLean Hospital in Massachusetts. The hospital was still
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an active Pennsylvania state hospital during the filming of the movie...."

(Submitted on January 8, 2022.)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 25, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 8, 2022, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 1,443 times since then and 69 times this year. Last updated on May 24, 2023, by Laura Klotz of Northampton, Pennsylvania. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 8, 2022, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.