“Don’t Touch” Piano in a Recreation Room at Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building

The Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building operated as the Fergus Falls State Hospital, opening in 1890 under the Kirkbride Plan of moral treatment for the mentally ill. Designed by Willoughby J. Edbrooke, the complex housed patients until the state closed the facility in the early 2000s. Rooms like this one, used for recreation and therapy, were part of the hospital's effort to provide structured daily activities alongside medical care. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.