{"nrhp_refnum":"79001902","name":"Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum","other_names":["Main Building of Old Dayton State Hospital"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2335 Wayne Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dayton","county":"Montgomery County","state":"OH","lat":39.73832607050005,"lon":-84.16080607052658,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-11-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The main building of the former Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum (later Dayton Mental Health Center), a four-story Victorian Italianate brick structure at 2335 Wayne Avenue, Dayton, Ohio. It opened in 1855, with additions in 1866, 1868 and about 1906.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant for its elaborate Victorian architecture and its commanding hilltop position over the city, which made it a source of community pride. It also marks the state's second major institution for the insane, created because the only existing asylum, at Columbus, held about 300 patients against an estimated 2,000 people in need.","narrative":"Rising on elevated ground above Dayton, this four-story brick building at 2335 Wayne Avenue served as the Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum and later as the Dayton Mental Health Center. Opened in September 1855 at a cost of about $110,000, it was designed by Dr. Kirkbride, an expert on asylum architecture. Its Victorian Italianate design features a central block with a two-story Ionic portico, a bracketed cornice, and an octagonal cupola, flanked by three-story gabled wings. Later extensions in 1866 and 1868 brought the facade to 940 feet. It was Ohio's second major asylum, built because the Columbus asylum could hold only 300 patients while roughly 2,000 people were thought to need care. By 1872 it housed 609 patients. Conditions declined from the 1960s, and after a new facility was built on the grounds the main building was vacated. Most outbuildings have been demolished. Its architecture and institutional history supported its listing while demolition was a threat.","period_of_significance":"1855, 1866, 1868, 1906","architect_builder":"Dr. Kirkbride","architectural_style":"Victorian Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"Standing empty after the hospital moved to a new facility on the grounds, and described as threatened by demolition.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.173089-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79001902.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001902/cfd9c68117-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001902/cfd9c68117-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Greg5030 Photo by Greg Hume","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SouthernOhioLunaticAsylum.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Greg5030 Photo by Greg Hume</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SouthernOhioLunaticAsylum.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990581","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Ohio_Lunatic_Asylum","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7570217"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/montgomery-county/southern-ohio-lunatic-asylum-79001902/"}