Traverse City State Hospital

Traverse City State Hospital was opened in 1885 and ran for more than a hundred years, treating mentally ill patients. Most members of the hospital staff at Kirkbride and other similar hospitals provided the best care they could, but its important to note that many of the practices of the late 19th and early 20th century included practices that have since been discredited. As psychiatry changed over the years, staff changed their approach, especially in the 1950s. The practice of placing large numbers in these kinds of hospitals declined in the 1970s and 1980s, partly due to funding cuts and also due to the increased use of medication, family-based care in private homes, or simply allowing people with severe mental illnesses to go untreated. The historic hospital was supposed to be torn down in 1989, but thanks to the actions of residents, the building was saved and repurposed.

The Traverse City State Hospital was founded in 1885 and operated for more than 100 years. The exterior features elements of the Victorian-Italianate school of architecture, while the interior was designed according to the Kirkbride Plan, developed in the 1800s by psychiatrist Thomas Kirkbride. His buildings were long and linear, laid out into two wings divided into wards where patients were separated and treated differently depending on their illness and gender. Ventilation and sunlight varied depending on the patients being treated. Although there were many Kirkbride Buildings throughout the nineteenth century, most were demolished after they closed down. As of 1978, when it was added to the Historic Register, Traverse City Hospital was one of the last Kirkbride Buildings to still stand in the United States.

The institution expanded over the years to accommodate the rising number of patients. By the early twentieth century, it was the city's largest employer. The hospital's staff changed their approach as psychiatry changed over the years to keep up with treatment standards. However, mental institutions became around the country faced declining funding and many closed down in the 1970s and 1980s, Traverse City followed suit, and the building was slated for demolition as of 1989. The city and its residents fought to save the building, though, and since then, it has been undergoing a huge renovation to convert the building into a mixed-use site called the Village at Grand Traverse Commons.