National Historic Landmark

St. Elizabeths Hospital

Washington, District of Columbia County, District of Columbia
Listed
April 25, 1979
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
79003101

About this property

St. Elizabeths Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Southeast Washington, D.C., operated by the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health. The hospital opened in 1855 under the name Government Hospital for the Insane, the first federally operated psychiatric hospital in the United States. Housing over 8,000 patients at its peak in the 1950s, the hospital had a fully functioning medical-surgical unit, a school of nursing, accredited internships and psychiatric residencies. Its campus was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990. Since 2010, the hospital's functions have been limited to the portion of the East Campus operated by the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health. The remainder of the East Campus is slated for redevelopment by the District of Columbia. The West Campus was transferred to the United States Department of Homeland Security for its headquarters and its component agencies. The Douglas A. Munro Coast Guard Headquarters Building is located at the bottom of the West Campus. The campus grounds contain the Saint Elizabeths Hospital East and West Cemeteries. Burials were performed on the West Campus beginning in 1856. Approximately 450 graves of Civil War veterans and an unknown number of civilians are buried on the West Campus. In 1873, the three-quarter-acre West Campus burying ground was deemed full, and a new cemetery was opened on the East Campus. Approximately 2,050 military and 3,000 civilian interments occurred on the nine-acre cemetery on the East Campus over the next 120 years. The hospital was under the control of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services until 1987. At that time, ownership of its East Campus was transferred by the federal government to the District of Columbia.

Location

2700 Martin Luther King Jr., Ave., SE.
Washington, District of Columbia County, District of Columbia
38.85019, -76.99549

Categories

ARCHITECTUREHEALTH/MEDICINESOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Engine Company No. 25
Industrial
0.6 mi
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site (Additional Documentation)
Pre Contact
1 mi
Anacostia Historic District
Listed
1.2 mi
Southeast No. 5 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia
Listed
1.3 mi
Southeast No. 6 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia
Listed
1.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was St. Elizabeths Hospital listed on the National Register?

St. Elizabeths Hospital was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 25, 1979.

What type of historic resource is St. Elizabeths Hospital?

St. Elizabeths Hospital is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is St. Elizabeths Hospital a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. St. Elizabeths Hospital has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for St. Elizabeths Hospital?

The period of significance for St. Elizabeths Hospital is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near St. Elizabeths Hospital?

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