HISTORIC PLACES GUIDE

National Register of Historic Places

Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane

Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane is a historic place in Buffalo, Erie County, New York, listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places on June 24, 1986, and designated a National Historic Landmark. Its National Register reference number is 86003557.

Buffalo, Erie County, New YorkListed June 24, 1986NRIS #86003557★ National Historic Landmark
Photograph of Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane
Photo: Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane via Wikimedia Commons — see the file page for author and license. Image source
Noir atlas

Location 01

Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane

Drag to explore · scroll to zoom · select a marker

About this place

What is Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane?

The Richardson Olmsted Campus in Buffalo, New York, United States, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986. The site was designed by the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson in concert with the famed landscape team of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in the late 1800s, incorporating a system of treatment for people with mental illness developed by Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride known as the Kirkbride Plan. Over the years, as mental health treatment changed and resources were diverted, the buildings and grounds began a slow deterioration. By 1974, the last patients were removed from the historic wards. On June 24, 1986, the former Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane was added to the National Historic Landmark registry. In 2006, the Richardson Center Corporation was formed to restore the buildings.

Source: Wikipedia, text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

The record

Listing details

Name
Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane
City
Buffalo
County
Erie County
State
New York
Listed on the National Register
June 24, 1986
NRIS reference number
86003557
Resource type
building
National Historic Landmark
Yes
Coordinates
42.92964, -78.88363
When was Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane listed on the National Register?

Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 24, 1986.

Where is Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane located?

Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane is located in Buffalo, Erie County, New York at approximately 42.92964, -78.88363. See the map above.

Is Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane is designated a National Historic Landmark, the highest federal recognition for a historic place.

Nearby on the register

More historic places in New York