National Historic Landmark

Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital

Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Listed
October 14, 1966
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
66000684

About this property

The Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital, also known as Kirkbride's Hospital or the Pennsylvania Hospital for Mental and Nervous Diseases, was a psychiatric hospital located at 48th and Haverford Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It operated from its founding in 1841 until 1997. The remaining building, now called the Kirkbride Center is now part of the Blackwell Human Services Campus. Two large hospital structures and an elaborate pleasure ground were built on a campus that stretched along the north side of Market Street, from 45th to 49th Streets. Thomas Story Kirkbride, the hospital's first superintendent and physician-in-chief, developed a more humane method of treatment for the mentally ill there, that became widely influential. The hospital's plan became a prototype for a generation of institutions for the treatment of the mentally ill nationwide. The surviving 1859 building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

Location

111 N. 49th St.
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
39.96121, -75.21813

Categories

HEALTH/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 Battles

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0.8 mi
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1.9 mi
Battle of Fort Mifflin (Pennsylvania)
1777Revolutionary War
5.4 mi
Battle of Fort Mifflin
1777Revolutionary War
5.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital listed on the National Register?

Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 1966.

What type of historic resource is Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital?

Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Institute of the Pennsylvania 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 Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital?

The period of significance for Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital is recorded as the industrial era.

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