Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital

The Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital is the largest mental health institution in Michigan.

It officially opened on 29 August 1859 under the direction of Dr. Edwin Van Deusen, although three women patients had been admitted prior to that time. The first male patient was admitted in 1860. It was originally known as the Michigan Asylum for the Insane and was renamed the Kalamazoo State Hospital in 1911. Its name was changed to the Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital on 1 January 1978 and in July 1995 it assumed its present designation, the Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital. Many local residents commonly refer to it simply as "the State Hospital."

The facility has continuously expanded and now stretches almost a statute mile along Oakland Drive, which was originally known as Asylum Avenue. It is bounded by Howard Street on the south, and by the campus of Western Michigan University on the north.

The water tower was constructed in 1895 and quickly became a local landmark. It played prominently in the history of the city. In time, two working farms were opened for the care and rehabilitation of patients and were located about three miles to the north and south of the main campus. Later, a former state tuberculosis sanitorium on Blakeslee was taken over by the hospital and utilized for the treatment and care of elderly patients.

Another landmark on the main campus is the "gate cottage" situated near Oakland Drive at the entrance to the hospital grounds. The gatehouse is "carpenter gothic" in style, featuring board and batten siding, a steep roof and "gingerbread" ornamentation. The house has been furnished with Victorian furniture and serves as a museum. When first built, it was used as the porter's residence and later housed a dozen women patients for a time.