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Taunton State Hospital
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Taunton, Massachusetts
Built	1851
Architect	Elbridge Boyden
Architectural style	Neo-classical
NRHP reference No.	93001484
Added to NRHP	February 21, 1994

The Taunton State Hospital (formerly known as the State Lunatic Hospital at Taunton) is a psychiatric hospital built in 1854 in Taunton, Massachusetts.

The architecture of most of the facility's buildings is of a unique and rare neo-classical style, designed by the architect Elbridge Boyden. It is also a Kirkbride Plan Hospital.

History

To relieve the pressure of a rising patient population from its only asylum, the state appointed a commission to find a site for a new asylum in 1851. After its completion in 1854, the second State Lunatic Hospital began taking in patients.

One of the building's most beautiful features was its breezeways, which were added in the 1890s to connect the end of the wards to the hospitals infirmary buildings. Its distinct cupolas, large dome, cast-iron capitals and window bar gave this building its own very unusual personality.

In 1975 the hospital was abandoned, as it was no longer needed. In 1999 the large dome which towered over the hospital's administration collapsed. Then, on the night of March 19, 2006 a massive fire broke out in the center of the building, which included the administration and theater. Sections damaged by fire were then leveled, leaving only the decaying wings of the Kirkbride.

The history of these buildings has been brought to an end. Being the last Kirkbride left standing in the state, the last days were marked as the end of an era. During late May 2009, workers began a complete abatement and demolition on all of the disused buildings on the property.

Staff

Psychiatrists at TSH:

• Aminadev Zakai, MD (Medical Director)
• David Osser, MD (clinical Director)
• Peter Whitney Wolff, MD
• Mudassir Syed Ali, MD
• Nancy Reed, MD
• Anthony Jackson, MD
• Syed Mazhar Moosvi, MD
• Susan Cullen, CNS
• Charu Patel, MD
• Raluca Savu, MD

Internists at TSH:

• William Glass, MD
• Melissa Martin, NP
• Cynthia Knight, NP

Chief Operating Officer (COO):

• Roberta Guez, LICSW

Famous patients

• Jane Toppan, a sociopathic serial killer.
• Lizzie Borden, often talked about as being held in the asylum. However, she was never admitted and is only known as being held in the jail which was on Hodges Ave near the hospital during the trial.

References

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Further reading

• Taunton State Hospital, Massachusetts Liberman et al. Am J Psychiatry.2003; 160: 2098

External links

• Kirkbride Buildings - Taunton State Hospital
• Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries
• Asylum Projects website info & history on Taunton
• High Definition video from Kirkbrides HD

• Psychiatric hospitals in Massachusetts
• Hospitals in Bristol County, Massachusetts
• Buildings and structures in Taunton, Massachusetts
• Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
• Kirkbride Plan hospitals
• Defunct hospitals in Massachusetts