Kirkbride Asylum (Fergus Falls, MN) by Iamstu

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

This is my interpetation of the Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center. It is a dying part of our history and is in danger of being torn down. From the pictures to the actual files I have added many windows and other features to make it more accurate.
(This description is borrowed from Kirkbridebuildings.com)
In the late nineteenth-century, overcrowding at Minnesota's two Kirkbride asylums in Rochester and St. Peter led to the creation of a third in Fergus Falls. Construction began in 1888 and was finished with completion of the central administration structure in 1906. Warren Dunnel of Minneapolis, Minnesota was the architect.
While most Kirkbrides have wings divided by sections joining at right angles, the sections here join at much wider angles. The resulting rough curve of the building's footprint is echoed in arched windows and the rounded turrets and connecting hallways. This gives the building a graceful and grand appearance which is somewhat offset by the rectangular central tower of the administration section. Much of the interior has been renovated extensively and is very modern. Original decorative elements still remain however, such as the ornate staircase in the center part of the Kirkbride, and the pervasive mosaic tiled floors. There are also some areas that have changed little since the early twentieth-century — a few wards in the North-East wing, and some staff living quarters in the administration area — but even these disused sections appear to be in solid condition.
Although still partly in use, the hospital has been declared surplus property by the state of Minnesota. The patient population has shrunk significantly and will soon be non-existant within the Kirkbride. The buildings and grounds are available for development in the near future and the city of Fergus Falls and the state of Minnesota are offering several incentives to anybody deciding to develop the property. For information on preservation and/or re-development please see Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center at FergusPhotos.com.
*Update - As of 2009 the FFRTC has been compleatly abandoned and is no longer being used.
Please write to the Fergus falls City council and tell them not to tear down this historic building, Contact info below.
Office of the Governor
http://mn.gov/governor/contact-us/form/
130 State Capitol
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
Telephone: 651-201-3400
Toll Free: 800-657-3717
Fax: 651-797-1850
http://www.facebook.com/GovMarkDayton
also,
http://collinpeterson.house.gov/
http://klobuchar.senate.gov/
http://www.franken.senate.gov/
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?district=10A
rep.bud.nornes@house.mn 800-336-8017
City Administration and council members
hal.leland@ci.fergus-falls.mn.us 218-332-5445
mark.sievert@ci.fergus-falls.mn.us 218-332-5403
jim.fish@ci.fergus-falls.mn.us 218-998-2514
scott.rachels@ci.fergus-falls.mn.us 218-736-3560
eric.shelstad@ci.fergus-falls.mn.us 218-739-4426
stan.synstelien@ci.fergus-falls.mn.us 218-739-3995
joellen.thacker@ci.fergus-falls.mn.us 218-739-2394
randy.synstelien@ci.fergus-falls.mn.us 218-739-5530
pat.connelly@ci.fergus-falls.mn.us 218-739-4922
jay.cichosz@ci.fergus-falls.mn.us 218-205-4535