Brigham Hall - Canandaigua, New York

My name is Ryan Thibodeau. I'm a professor of psychology at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York. This very serious, official-looking photo proves it:

 

I have a great deal of interest in the history of mental illness and, in particular, the institutions that sprang up to care for people who struggled with it. On my travels, I have visited and learned about lots of these places. This blog will document these visits.

I hope you enjoy it. But, two caveats:

First, this is a blog but I'm not a blogger. So, I have no idea what I'm doing. For you, I'll try to fake it.

Second, the blog will include lots of photos from my travels. But, because I'm not a photographer, the photos are probably mostly lousy. Sorry about that.

Well, let's get on with it. First up, the former Brigham Hall on the shores of beautiful, charming Canandaigua Lake, the fourth largest of the famous Finger Lakes in upstate New York.

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INSTITUTION: Brigham Hall

LOCATION: Canandaigua, New York

OPENED: 1855

CLOSED: 1961

DATE OF VISIT: January 7, 2019

Dr. George Cook, owner of a prodigious beard and the co-founder and first superintendent of Brigham Hall. This photo is one of several displayed in the entryway of the building.

The first building to have accepted patients - around a dozen. Handsome building, no? Fun fact - Brigham Hall was named for Dr. Amariah Brigham, the renowned superintendent of the New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica (stay tuned for a future blog post). Dr. Cook trained under Dr. Brigham at Utica prior to coming to Canandaigua. The two institutions were quite different - the asylum at Utica was a large, public institution; Brigham Hall was a small, private institution that catered mostly to a more affluent clientele.

Architecture enthusiasts and urban explorers refer to engaging images of stairs as "stairporn." This doesn't seem like a terribly provocative example, but... here's an old, interesting set of stairs on the grounds.

 

 

And now for something completely different. This plaque adorns stonework at the main entrance of the facility. On September 11, 1779, I was -200 years old.

Dr. John Chapin went from Brigham Hall to the Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane in nearby Ovid, New York (stay tuned for a future blog post). He later became superintendent of the famous Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, replacing the venerable Dr. Thomas Kirkbride after his death in 1883.

 

 

The former Administration Building at Brigham Hall. Fun fact - although Brigham Hall was definitely not the first psychiatric facility in New York State, it was the first to describe its functions as that of a "hospital" in the charter it received from the State.

 

 

Brigham Hall closed in 1961, after which the facility was sold and continued to serve as a nursing home until 1979. Today, the facility has a new life - Heritage House Apartments. Cats are allowed; dogs are not. Grrrr.

The entryway of the current apartment building. I wonder how much the tenants know about the former life of this building.

Last but not least... Old Glory flies over this (former) uniquely American institution. #murica

FURTHER READING: Check out this nice piece on Brigham Hall published in 2015 in the Daily Messenger.