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Maine's latest psychiatric hospital: the stalwart has stood for 164 years, but changes in treatment philosophies and technology necessitated a new structure.

Article Excerpt
It was 1840 when the doors opened to the Maine Insane Hospital, later renamed the Augusta Mental Health Institute (AMHI). Nearly ten years passed from the time the state legislature appropriated $20,000 for the construction to the day the first patient arrived. It would be 164 years before the last patient would leave and a new facility would take its place. This is the story of the transformation of a mental health "institution" from state-of-the-art in the 1840s to state-of-the-art at the turn of the 21st century.

Ahead of Its Time

Originally built to care for just 30 patients, AMHI was constructed on a pastoral setting overlooking the Kennebec River in the recently relocated capital of Augusta. The hospital was carefully sited within clear view across the river from the statehouse so each successive governor and members of the legislature would never forget the hospital or those cared for there.

The mid-19th century saw a number of majestic American asylums constructed, and they became a source of great pride within their communities. The new hospital in Augusta was a national model with state-of-the-art technology: It had a ventilation system, a central heating system, gas lighting, and running water. Male and female...

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