The Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center is a

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

operated by the state of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. It is located at 656 State Street in Bangor, and was previously known as the Eastern Maine Insane Asylum and the Bangor Mental Health Institute. It was established in 1895, and the main building on its campus is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Services and coverage area

The Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center provides inpatient and outpatient care for the most severely mentally ill individuals in the eastern two-thirds of the state. It has 51 beds and serves both voluntary and involuntary (court-committed) patients. Its operations are governed by state legislation and overseen by the state's Department of Health and Human Services.

History

Maine's first psychiatric hospital was the

Maine Insane Hospital The Maine Insane Hospital, later the Augusta Mental Health Institute (AMHI), was a psychiatric hospital in Augusta, Maine. It was the principal facility for the care and treatment of Maine's mentally ill from 1840 to 2004, and its surviving build ...

, established in Augusta in 1835. The facility was repeatedly expanded until 1889, when further enlargement was deemed unfeasible. The state then appointed a committee to identify a site for a second facility, which led to the selection of the current location. The centerpiece of the campus is a sprawling, connected multi-building complex, at whose center is the hospital's first building, designed by the noted

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

architect

John Calvin Stevens John Calvin Stevens (October 8, 1855 – January 25, 1940) was an American architect who worked in the Shingle Style, in which he was a major innovator, and the Colonial Revival style. He designed more than 1,000 buildings in the state of Maine. ...

and completed in 1897. The wings, which were designed by Bangor architect George Coombs, were added in 1899–1901, when the facility formally opened its doors. The hospital continued to grow over the course of the 20th century, generally according to the principles of the

Kirkbride Plan The Kirkbride Plan was a system of mental asylum design advocated by American psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride (1809–1883) in the mid-19th century. The asylums built in the Kirkbride design, often referred to as Kirkbride Buildings (or simp ...

for the design and organization of mental hospitals. The main building was listed on the

in 1987; it is one of the state's largest public buildings. . When it was founded, the facility was called the Eastern Maine Insane Hospital. In 1913, the name was changed to Bangor State Hospital, and later to Bangor Mental Health Institute. In 2005 it was renamed the Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center, in honor of

Dorothea Dix Dorothea Lynde Dix (April 4, 1802July 17, 1887) was an American advocate on behalf of the poor insane, mentally ill. By her vigorous and sustained program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, she helped create the fir ...

, a pioneering 19th-century advocate for the improved treatment of the mentally ill.

Campus

The center's campus is located on Bangor's east side, between State Street ( United States Route 2) and Mount Hope Avenue, with Saxl Park on its west side. In addition to the sprawling main building, the campus includes the Tuberculosis Center, Hedin Hall, the Pre-Release Center, a maintenance building, and Pooler Pavilion.

References

{{authority control Hospital buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Buildings and structures completed in 1896 Buildings and structures in Bangor, Maine Psychiatric hospitals in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Bangor, Maine 1896 establishments in Maine

Services and coverage area

History

Campus

See also

References