Central Tower, Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building, Minnesota

The Kirkbride Building at the former Fergus Falls State Hospital was designed by Warren B. Dunnell and completed in phases beginning in 1890. Its central tower, capped with a flared red roof, rises above the administrative core that once linked wards built according to the Kirkbride Plan, a 19th-century model for mental health treatment favoring light, air, and separation of patients by ward. The Romanesque Revival design uses locally quarried granite and sandstone trim, materials chosen for durability across the hospital's more than a century of operation before its closure in 2005. The complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and redevelopment efforts have converted portions of the site to housing while preserving the tower and main facade as a landmark on the Fergus Falls skyline.

Photo taken in June 2014.