Grand Staircase Beneath Twin Windows at Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building

The Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building, opened in 1890 as the Fergus Falls State Hospital, was designed by Warren B. Dunnell following the Kirkbride Plan, a 19th-century model for mental health facilities that emphasized natural light, ventilation, and staggered wings radiating from a central administrative core. Staircases like this one connected the building's linear wards, allowing staff to move between floors while keeping patient wings separated by ward and gender, a hallmark of Kirkbride-era design. The hospital operated under this model until the mid-20th century, after which the state shifted toward smaller, decentralized treatment programs. The building closed in 2005 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.