Open Ward with Glass Block Windows, Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building

The Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building housed patient wards like this one, part of the former Fergus Falls State Hospital, which opened in 1890 under the Kirkbride Plan of moral treatment for the mentally ill. That model called for long, light-filled wings arranged to give each ward access to sunlight and cross-ventilation, a design principle reflected in the wall of windows along this room's exterior side. The hospital operated for over a century before closing in the early 2000s, and the building has sat vacant since, with preservation groups and Otter Tail County debating its future use. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.