Mint-Green Ward Door at the Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building

The Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building, part of the former Fergus Falls State Hospital, opened in 1890 under the design principles of psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride, whose model called for staggered wings to give patients access to light and air. Built of red brick and Sioux quartzite in the Romanesque Revival style, the complex once housed more than 1,000 patients before the state hospital system shifted toward smaller community-based care in the mid-20th century. The building closed to patient use by the early 2000s and has sat mostly vacant since, with sections of its plaster and paint deteriorating from decades without climate control. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and preservation groups have pushed for adaptive reuse of the structure.