Imagine Fergus Falls: Mobilizing Artists to Explore the Past and Future of a Mental Institution By Michele Anderson
Kirkbride was a psychiatrist from Pennsylvania, a Quaker, and was one of many pioneers of “moral treatment” for the mentally ill. Known by his peers more as a stubborn idealist than a visionary, he founded the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutes for the Insane in 1844. For Dr. Kirkbride, place was the main prescription for healing mental health illness. The defining characteristic of the
Rural Program Director at Springboard for the Arts
institutions Kirkbride envisioned was a grand Victorian building in the shape of a horseshoe or bat wing, allowing for each patient’s room to receive an equal amount of sunlight. Appropriately, Kirkbride’s motto
For over 100 years, the labyrinthine history of institutionalized
was “beauty is therapy.”
mental health treatment evolved within five miles of the
Closed one by one between the 1970s and the early 2000s, fewer than
heart of downtown Fergus Falls—a community of 13,600 in the heart of the lakes and prairie of West Central Minnesota. This treatment took place on the sprawling,
15 of these buildings exist today. Now sitting empty, their overwhelming physical footprint provides a daunting challenge to potential developers and the cities or states that own them across the country. Add the cultural stigma of institutionalization to this equation and the possibility
pastoral campus of the Fergus Falls State Hospital, built in
for reinvention seems nearly impossible, something that has most
1890 under the design plan of Thomas Story Kirkbride.
recently been witnessed in Parsipanny, New Jersey, where demolition began on the Greystone Psychiatric Hospital in early summer 2015. In Fergus Falls, the building has a complex reputation. It’s not uncommon to hear rumors that the building is haunted. At the same time, the public enjoys walking outdoors on the grounds, the community’s annual Summerfest is held at the foot of the building’s administrative tower, and former employees gather at the building for reunions. As such, the future of Fergus Falls’ Kirkbride Building is hotly debated at City Hall, in the local newspaper, and at coffee shops, restaurant and bars. In 2011, Springboard for the Arts, a community and economic development organization for artists, based in St. Paul, MN, launched its first rural office in Fergus Falls. After opening its doors in downtown Fergus Falls, Springboard was approached almost immediately by the Friends of the Kirkbride, a grassroots advocacy group for the preservation and adaptive reuse of the building, about the possibility of getting artists involved with the issue. It was clear from the beginning that the Kirkbride’s saga embodied the values and ideals of the then emerging field of Creative Placemaking. Voices were not being heard in the community, and as a result, the building’s uncertain future was tearing the town apart. People of all ages were frustrated that they did not have a place to share their stories, hopes and ideas for the building. Many were starting to become apathetic, as if their
Aerial view of the former Fergus Falls State Hospital, or “The Kirkbride Building” in Minnesota, provided by the Friends of the Kirkbride.
opinions didn’t matter. To the City, demolition simply seemed easier than the long, multi-phased, and engaged process of reinventing the building. Meanwhile, artists in the community were inspired, intrigued, and curious
Photo: David Lill
about the building. Many were already creating artwork inspired by the building, including fashion photo shoots in the vacant hallways, watercolors, quilts, and movies. Others saw the building as an opportunity to open up candid, honest conversations about mental illness. Seeing the opportunity for artists to serve as a bridge between the past, present and future of the building, Springboard for the Arts, the Friends of the Kirkbride, and the Otter Tail County Historical Society launched “Imagine Fergus Falls” in the fall of 2013, a project intended to support artist-led projects that would foster community interaction about the past and future of the building.
Artists participate in a Creative Placemaking Action workshop about the Kirkbride Building, presented by Springboard for the Arts. Photo: Holly Diestler
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