{"nrhp_refnum":"89001166","name":"Hudson River State Hospital, Main Building","other_names":["Hudson River State Hospital for the Insane,Main Building","Hud"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"US 9","address_restricted":false,"city":"Poughkeepsie","county":"Dutchess County","state":"NY","lat":41.73258663200005,"lon":-73.92851947461051,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-06-29","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1989-06-30","areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large High Victorian Gothic hospital building for the mentally ill on the east bank of the Hudson River, about one mile north of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York. Construction began in 1867 on land purchased from James Roosevelt, with Frederick C. Withers as architect.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the first significant example in the United States of High Victorian Gothic applied to institutional construction, and a mature work that established Withers' reputation. It also reflects the landscape design of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. When it opened it was considered the most modern facility of its kind in New York State, built on Dr. Thomas Kirkbride's linear plan.","narrative":"Overlooking the Hudson River about a mile north of Poughkeepsie, this hospital was built to house people with mental illness. The City of Poughkeepsie and Dutchess County bought a farm from James Roosevelt in 1867 and gave it to the State, and construction began that year. Architect Frederick C. Withers designed a long, linear brick building with a central section, a chapel and kitchen to the rear, and patient wings extending to each side, following the plan advocated by Dr. Thomas Kirkbride. Its polychromatic exterior combines brick with light sandstone and dark bluestone bands, pointed-arch windows, engaged towers and many pyramidal roofs. Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted shaped the grounds. The first patients arrived in 1871, and the population grew to about 900 by 1890. The nomination values the building as the first major American use of High Victorian Gothic for an institution, and as the most modern hospital in New York State when completed.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Withers, Frederick Clarke; Vaux, Calvert; Olmsted, Frederick Law","architectural_style":"High Victorian Gothic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Main building retains its High Victorian Gothic finish, with oak stairs, marble fireplaces and Minton tile floors in the vestibule; ten ancillary buildings in the boundary are non-contributing.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:40.027259-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/89001166_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001166/aa0567f5b0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001166/aa0567f5b0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Hviola","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hudson_River_State_Hospital.jpeg\" rel=\"noopener\">Hviola</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:Hudson_River_State_Hospital.jpeg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75315687","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_River_State_Hospital","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5928866"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/dutchess-county/hudson-river-state-hospital-main-building-89001166/"}