Open Doors Leading Into the Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building

Double doors open onto a hexagonal tile corridor in the abandoned Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building psychiatric hospital.
Double doors open onto a hexagonal tile corridor in the abandoned Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building psychiatric hospital.

The Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building, part of the former Fergus Falls State Hospital in Minnesota, was designed under the Kirkbride Plan promoted by psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride, which called for long, staggered wings to give patients access to light and air. The hospital opened in 1890 and operated for over a century before closing in 2005. Its corridors were finished with hexagonal ceramic tile, a common material choice for institutional buildings of the era valued for durability and ease of cleaning. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

Taken June 2014

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