Worcester State Hospital

Worcester State Hospital
Massachusetts Department of Mental Health
Administration building
Geography
Location	Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
Organization
Type	Mental hospital
Services
History
Opened	1833
Closed	2012
Links
Other links
Worcester Asylum and related buildings
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of Massachusetts Show map of the United States
Location	305 Belmont St., Worcester, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°16′43.2″N 71°46′9.5″W / 42.278667°N 71.769306°W / 42.278667; -71.769306
Built	1870-1876
Architect	Weston & Rand; Et al.
Architectural style	Gothic
MPS	Worcester MRA
NRHP reference No.	80000530[1]
Added to NRHP	March 05, 1980

Worcester State Hospital was a Massachusetts state mental hospital located in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is credited to the architectural firm of Weston & Rand. The hospital and surrounding associated historic structures are listed as Worcester Asylum and related buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.^[1]

It was once known as the Worcester Lunatic Asylum and the Bloomingdale Asylum. The hospital dates back to the 1830s. On January 12, 1833, the Worcester Insane Asylum opened. It was the first of its kind in the state. During the first year, 164 patients were received.

As the facility soon became overcrowded, superintendent Merrick Bemis called for the construction of a new asylum. A massive structure was to be laid out in the Kirkbride Plan and located on Belmont Street. Construction began in 1870 and the newly built Worcester State Hospital was completed in 1876 at the cost of well over a million dollars.

The wards were named after places in Massachusetts as well as numerous founders of the American Psychiatric Association, such as Howe, Appleton, Woodward, Gage, Hooper, Folsom, and Thayer.^[2]