The Annex
Introduction
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Constructed in 1897 at a cost of $35,000 (equivalent to approximately $1.2 million today), the Annex emerged as a solution to alleviate overcrowding at the hospital. The Annex played a crucial role in restructuring patient accommodations by moving patients out of the crowded conditions in the main building’s basement.
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The Annex attached to the Main Admin building at the Herman Holloway campus.
The Annex was created as an extension of the State Hospital. Now it hosts the offices of OSEC Admin and DSAAPD.
Backstory and Context
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The northern wards of the Annex were allocated for male patients, while the southern wards housed female patients, with a central corridor or waiting hall serving as the dividing line. By 1939, the Annex accommodated over 200 patients. However, in 1949, a significant update and remodeling transformed the annex into the first receiving ward, or intake area, for the Delaware State Hospital.
Today, the Annex has evolved with the remainder of the Main Admin Building into office space for DHSS employees.
We are now continuing along Schramm Street towards our next stop, the Chapel. Please pause the recording until you reach the Chapel.
Sources
Source: Abrams, Rose Mary. (1889-1939). Delaware State Hospital - The First Fifty Years. Accessed through Delaware Public Archives.
Source: Dettwyler, K. A. (2019). Remembering Farnhurst: Stories from the Delaware State Hospital 1894-1920. Outskirts Press.
Source: History of Delaware State Hospital. (n.d.) Accessed through Delaware Pubic Archives.