The Richardson Olmsted Complex in Buffalo, New York, United States, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986.[2][3] The site was designed by the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson in concert with the landscape team of Frederick Law Olmsted, landscape architect of New York City's Central Park, and Calvert Vaux in the late 1800s, incorporating a system of treatment for people with mental illness developed by Thomas Story Kirkbride. Over the years, as mental health treatment changed and resources were diverted, the buildings and grounds began a slow deterioration. In 2006, the Richardson Center Corporation was formed to restore the buildings. The building was renovated and opened in 2023 at The Richardson Hotel.
History and architecture
The large Medina red sandstone and brick hospital buildings were designed in 1870 in the Kirkbride Plan by architect Henry Hobson Richardson with grounds by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.[4] At the time of construction completion, the facility was formally known as the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane.[5] The campus consists of a central administrative tower and five pavilions or wards progressively set back on each side, for eleven buildings total, all connected by short curved two-story corridors. Patients were segregated by sex, males on the east side, females on the west. The wards housed patients until the mid-1970s. The central administration building was used for offices until 1994.[1]
The campus, the largest commission of Richardson's career, marks the advent of his characteristic Romanesque Revival style. When emulated by later architects, this style is referred to as Richardsonian Romanesque. It has been the subject of a long-term preservation campaign. Nevertheless, three pavilions on the east side were demolished in the 1970s to make way for newer psychiatric facilities.[6] In 1927, the northern farmlands were transferred back to the State for the development of what is today Buffalo State College.[7]
The Preservation Coalition of Erie County (renamed "Preservation Buffalo Niagara" in October 2008) filed a lawsuit resulting in New York State establishing the Richardson Center Corporation in 2006 to rehabilitate the site and the State committing $100 million towards rehabilitation. Both former New York State Assembly Member Sam Hoyt, and former Buffalo State College President Muriel A. Howard, were involved in plans for the restoration and reuse of the Richardson.[8]
Perimeter fencing and lighting were installed and a Peace Officer was hired to conduct regular patrols and prevent and deter further crime at the complex.[9] On March 5, 2008, stabilization began with the most severely damaged buildings, including the roof and down-spouts.[10] Stabilization was completed in 2012.[11]
On April 10, 2010, a fire occurred. The cause of the fire was under investigation. Damage was estimated at $200,000.[12]
In 2013, the South Lawn landscape on the property was completed.[13]
During the planning stages, the Richardson Center Corporation has used an active public process, aimed to help to inform the Master Plan during all phases of redevelopment for the Campus, including several public meetings. A Community Advisory Group includes representatives from the adjacent neighborhoods, business districts, cultural institutions, Buffalo Psychiatric Center, SUNY Buffalo State, and historic preservation groups.[14]
Currently[when?], the building is being restored by Douglas Development Corporation and Antunovich Associates.
Redevelopment as a hotel
Hotel Henry
In January 2013, plans were announced to redevelop one third of the Campus into Hotel Henry Urban Resort Conference Center with a restaurant called 100 Acres, and the Buffalo Architecture Center, both within the Towers Building and two flanking buildings.[15]
The Hotel Henry Urban Resort Conference Center opened in April 2017 to acclaim; it was named one of the "World's Greatest Places" by Time Magazine in 2018.[16][17] Although the first two years were profitable, Hotel Henry was forced to close in February 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]
The Richardson Hotel
Richardson Hotel
Signage
Main lobby
Second floor lobby
The hotel was again renovated, and re-opened in March 2023 under new management.[18] Renovations included re-arrangement of the restaurant areas, and the check-in desk was moved to the first floor.[18] The 88-room Richardson Hotel occupies four floors of three of the 13 Richardson-designed buildings on the site.[18] The hotel features a bar, cafe, restaurant, conference space and a ballroom at the top.[18] The space is decorated with antique furniture found in the basement, as well as about 300 large photographs of the property, some of which are historic and some contemporary photos taken by local photographers.[18]
In popular culture
Lizzie D. Cottier surreptitiously wrote a novel, The Right Spirit,[19] in 1885 while committed to the Buffalo State Asylum.[20]
In 1983 a portion of a ground floor hallway and one hospital room were prepared to appear as a maternity ward and used as a location for The Natural, where the character Roy Hobbs, as played by Robert Redford, was shown recovering from internal injuries. [citation needed]
Mount Massive Asylum, the main setting for the 2013 horror game Outlast, was modeled after the Richardson Olmsted Complex.[21]
Plans, Drawings, Images, Records
Architectural plans and drawings, and internal records from the Buffalo State Hospital are found in several places. Most are offline and undigitized.
Henry Hobson Richardson drawings, including the Buffalo State Hospital/Richardson Complex, are at Harvard University. They are not digitized.
Job #612, New York State Asylum for the Insane: Flickr album of sketches and drawings for the grounds of the Buffalo State Hospital, fully digitized courtesy of the Frederick Law Olmsted National Park Service Site.
^ ab"Buffalo State Hospital". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 18, 2007. Archived from the original on May 2, 2008.
