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The Taunton State Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located on Danforth Street in Taunton, Massachusetts. Established in 1854, it was originally known as the State Lunatic Hospital at Taunton. It was the second state asylum in Massachusetts. Most of the original part of the facility was built in a unique and rare neo-classical style designed by architects Boyden & Ball. It is also a Kirkbride Plan hospital and is located on a large farm along the Mill River.〔(Taunton Daily Gazette, January 29, 2012 )〕 The complex was expanded at various times to include over forty buildings and structures. The main part of the hospital (known as "the Kirkbride Building") closed in 1975, and the buildings fell into disrepair. In 1994, the property was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district.〔(MASSACHUSETTS - Bristol County - Historic Districts )〕 In 1999, the main dome of the administration building collapsed. In 2006, a large part of the historic complex was destroyed by fire. In 2009, the remaining parts were demolished. However, many of the newer buildings on the campus remain. ==History== In 1851, the Massachusetts General Court appointed a commission to find a site for a new asylum to relieve the pressure of a rising patient population from its only facility in Worcester. The new hospital at Taunton opened in April 1854. The large sprawling campus located on a hill offered fresh air and sunlight, following Kirkbride's concept for treating mental health patients. The complex was expanded in the early 1870s and again between 1887 and 1906. From the 1930s, juvenile facilities, crisis centers, sick wards, and group homes were added.〔(Taunton Daily Gazette, January 29, 2012 )〕 One of the building's most beautiful features was its breezeways, which were added in the 1890s to connect the end of the wards to the hospital's infirmary buildings. Its distinct cupolas, large dome, cast-iron capitals, and window bar gave this building its own very unusual personality.〔(Kirkbride Buildings )〕 In 1975, the main part of the hospital was closed and abandoned. In 1999, the large dome which towered over the hospital's administration building collapsed. Then on the night of March 19, 2006, a massive fire broke out in the center of the building, which included the administration and theater. Sections damaged by fire were then leveled, leaving only the decaying wings of the Kirkbride Building. In May 2009, demolition of the remaining historic sections of the Kirkbride Building began. The facility had numerous architectural features that were salvaged and sold to individuals and companies throughout the United States, including architectural granite, bricks, timbers, iron gates, vintage plumbing and lighting fixtures, furniture, and slate roofing tiles. The project was completed in early 2010.〔(Costello Dismantling Company )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Taunton State Hospital」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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