A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_URI::$config is deprecated
Filename: core/URI.php
Line Number: 73
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Router::$uri is deprecated
Filename: core/Router.php
Line Number: 90
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Input::$security is deprecated
Filename: core/Input.php
Line Number: 94
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Input::$uni is deprecated
Filename: core/Input.php
Line Number: 100
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$benchmark is deprecated
Filename: core/Controller.php
Line Number: 47
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$hooks is deprecated
Filename: core/Controller.php
Line Number: 47
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$config is deprecated
Filename: core/Controller.php
Line Number: 47
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$utf8 is deprecated
Filename: core/Controller.php
Line Number: 47
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$uri is deprecated
Filename: core/Controller.php
Line Number: 47
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$exceptions is deprecated
Filename: core/Controller.php
Line Number: 47
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$router is deprecated
Filename: core/Controller.php
Line Number: 47
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$output is deprecated
Filename: core/Controller.php
Line Number: 47
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$security is deprecated
Filename: core/Controller.php
Line Number: 47
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$input is deprecated
Filename: core/Controller.php
Line Number: 47
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$lang is deprecated
Filename: core/Controller.php
Line Number: 47
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$load is deprecated
Filename: core/Controller.php
Line Number: 49
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$db is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 340
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_DB_mysqli_driver::$stricton is deprecated
Filename: database/DB_driver.php
Line Number: 88
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$cache is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 1092
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$styles is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 1096
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Scripts::$CI is deprecated
Filename: libraries/Scripts.php
Line Number: 11
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$scripts is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 1096
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$site_model is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 302
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$gallery_model is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 302
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$image_model is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 302
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property Site::$siteimage_model is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 302
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$benchmark is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$hooks is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$config is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$utf8 is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$uri is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$exceptions is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$router is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$output is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$security is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$input is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$lang is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$load is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$db is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$cache is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$styles is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$scripts is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$site_model is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$gallery_model is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$image_model is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: 8192
Message: Creation of dynamic property CI_Loader::$siteimage_model is deprecated
Filename: core/Loader.php
Line Number: 788
Dixmont State Hospital: an Abandoned Kirkbride Building in Pittsburgh, PA
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: Notice
Message: Only variables should be passed by reference
Filename: pages/site.php
Line Number: 13
Dixmont State Hospital
Located in Pittsburgh, PA
Built: 1859
Opened: 1862
Age: 165 years
Closed: 1984
Demo / Renovated: 2006
Decaying for: 22 years
Last Known Status: Demolished
Dixmont State Hospital History
The old Dixmont hospital once went by the lengthy title of the "Department of the Insane in the Western Pennsylvania Hospital of Pittsburgh" when it was opened in 1862 with an initial population of 113 patients. It was one of the earlier asylums in the U.S. built on the Kirkbride plan, with three crooked wings stretching from each side of a central administration area; one wing for male and the other for female patients. By the end of the 1800s, the resident population grew to over 1,200 and a nursing school was established in 1895. In 1907, the hospital legally separated from the Western Pennsylvania Hospital and became known as Dixmont Hospital for the Insane, named after Dorothea Dix , a pioneer in advocating the humane treatment of the mentally ill.
As with most asylums in the country during this time, Dixmont became overcrowded to the point that it was not accepting new admissions. During the Great Depression, the hospital tried to sustain itself by paying employees with room and board rather than salaries, and sold any crafts made by patients for extra income. By 1946, the state stepped in to take control of the failing institution, and the name changed to the more familiar moniker Dixmont State Hospital.
Financial troubles still plagued the hospital until it finally closed in 1984. After being shuttered for some time, a fire partially destroyed the administration building, and the place became an easy target for anyone to do what they pleased. For 15 years the hospital sat decaying until a contractor named Ralph Stroyne bought the property (his many relatives once worked at the institution), but it was sold again to the Wal-mart corporation, where they planned to raze the buildings for a new department store.
As of 2006, the hospital had been demolished, even though the Kirkbride building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The precarious nature of the hill that it rested on proved to be a challenge for the Wal-mart developers, and eventually, led to an engineering disaster. The demolition and clearing of the parcel atop the hill caused a massive landslide in September 2006, which dumped 500,000 cubic yards of soil, rock and debris onto Route 65, closing it to traffic for some time. One year later, Wal-mart finally abandoned the plans to develop the site and it remains as an empty lot.
Be sure to check out more Dixmont history and Truckie's photos .
Photos of Dixmont State Hospital
Departure
Photos: 54
Shot: August 2005
Posted: November 2005