Harrisburg State Hospital

Harrisburg State Hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County, on Cameron and Maclay Streets, was Pennsylvania’s first public facility to house the mentally ill and disabled.

History
Legislation passed in 1845 to establish the hospital and it was opened as the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital, admitting its first patient, in 1851. This was a result of the successful lobbying efforts of 19th century social reformer, Dorothea Dix. The hospital was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Hospital and campus layout
It has a two hundred acre campus with stately buildings in a country setting, in Dauphin County, with a majority of its campus in Susquehanna Township. There are over fifty buildings located on the campus. The former hospital facility is now managed by Pennsylvania's Department of General Services and provides office space for many state agencies.

Closure of the hospital
Harrisburg State Hospital (as it was known) closed it doors on January 27, 2006. The facility provided over 150 years of service to Pennsylvania's mentally ill. It immediately began to fulfill its new mission, as temporary office space for various state government agencies.

Trivia

 * It was used for the hospital setting in the film, Girl, Interrupted.The film was shot at various locations in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, especially Harrisburg State Hospital in settings meant to resemble those of the grounds of McLean Hospital in Massachusetts.