The New York State Inebriate Asylum, later known as Binghamton State Hospital, was the first institution designed and constructed to treat

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

as a mental disorder in the United States. Located in

Binghamton, NY Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conf ...

, its imposing

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

exterior was designed by

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Isaac G. Perry Isaac Gale Perry (1822–1904) was a prolific New York State architect and Real estate developer, builder. His works include New York State Inebriate Asylum, Phelps Mansion and the First National Bank of Oxford. Life and career Isaac G. ...

and construction was completed in 1864. The building was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1997. In 2015,

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university in Binghamton metropolitan area, Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four uni ...

announced it had taken stewardship of the building and will proceed with plans for rehabilitation of the building.

Description and history

The former New York State Inebriate Asylum building is located high on a prominent hilltop in eastern Binghamton, at 425 Robinson Street. It is a large and imposing Gothic Revival stone building. The asylum was chartered in 1854, but site work and construction on this campus did not begin until 1857, in what were then the rural outskirts of Binghamton. The asylum admitted its first patients in 1864, but the building was not completed for another two years. It was the first large-scale public facility in which alcoholism was treated as a medical condition. It served this function until 1879, when it was converted to a mental hospital. The facilities were significantly enlarged in the 1880s, with the addition of many buildings that have since been demolished. The building remained in use as a mental hospital or psychiatric services center until 1993, when it was closed due to inadequate maintenance. In 2008, SUNY Upstate Medical University took over the vacant building, with plans rehabilitate the main building and to establish a satellite campus on the grounds. Due to a general economic downturn, the university never developed the building beyond stabilizing its condition. In 2015,

announced it had taken stewardship of the building and published plans for rehabilitation of the building.

References

External links

2013 interior and exterior photos

4 data pages
on New York State Inebriate Asylum, at

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

American Insane Asylums. American Psychosurgery.
{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1864 Psychiatric hospitals in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Broome County, New York History of Broome County, New York National Register of Historic Places in Broome County, New York National Historic Landmarks in New York (state) State University of New York Upstate Medical University New York State Register of Historic Places in Broome County