Rounded Brick Wing at the Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building

The Kirkbride Building at the former Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center was built in 1890 to a design by architect Warren B. Dunnell, following the linear, staggered-wing plan developed by psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride for state asylums. The curved wing on this facade is a rare architectural feature among Kirkbride-plan hospitals, most of which used straight, angled wings to maximize light and ventilation in patient wards. Built of cream-colored brick with a rusticated stone base, the complex once housed thousands of patients before the state shifted to community-based mental health care in the late 20th century. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has sat largely vacant since the hospital's closure.