Peter Emslie Illustrations of H.H. Richardson’s Buffalo State Hospital

Item set

Title
Peter Emslie Illustrations of H.H. Richardson’s Buffalo State Hospital
Description
In the mid-19th century, attitudes towards mental illness were beginning to change. The Kirkbride Plan, proposed by psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride, asserted the curative effects of a more natural environment featuring fresh air, natural light, and grounds with cultivated parks and farmland in the treatment of the mentally ill.

This era saw a rapid increase in the construction of state asylums following the Kirkbride Plan, including the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane, one of 73 such facilities built in the United States from 1845 to 1910. At the time of its construction, the Buffalo State Asylum was considered a state-of-the-art facility, both for its appearance and its use of therapeutic landscape design as integral to treating mental illness.

With buildings designed by architect Henry Hobson (H.H.) Richardson, and grounds by prominent landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the Richardson Olmsted Campus is the preeminent example of the Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style and reflects the development of mental health institutions in the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, the 145-year-old Campus is a National Historic Landmark and home to one of the largest historic preservation projects in the nation.

The pen-and-ink illustrations on view were copied directly from H.H. Richardson’s original plans by Buffalo civil engineer Peter Emslie, the Asylum’s Supervising Architect (1877-1880) and Building Superintendent (1878-1880).
Subject
Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane ; Richardson, H. H. (Henry Hobson), 1838-1886 ; Emslie, Peter
Creator
Emslie, Peter
Source
State University of New York at Buffalo. Architecture and Planning Library
Publisher
State University of New York at Buffalo. Architecture and Planning Library
Date
1880
Contributor
Richardson, H. H. (Henry Hobson), 1838-1886
Rights
Use for educational purposes only. Single copies (print, photocopy, download) are permitted for personal study, research and teaching.
Format
Architectural drawings
Language
English
Type
Still Image
Identifier
LIB-APL002
Coverage
Buffalo, New York
Date Available
1880
Is Part Of
Emslie Illustrations of H.H. Richardson’s Buffalo State Hospital
Provenance
Donated to the University at Buffalo’s Architecture & Planning Library in 2018 by the Buffalo Psychiatric Center.

Items

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  • Administration Building, Front Elevation, 1880
    Digital image of drawing #6 from H. H. Richardson's plans for the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane, as reproduced by Peter Emslie, the Asylum’s Supervising Architect (1877-1880) and Building Superintendent (1878-1880) in pencil and ink. Includes drawing of the front elevation of the Administration Building, 1880
  • Administration Building Plan of Basement, 1880
    Digital image of drawing #1 from H. H. Richardson's plans for the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane, as reproduced by Peter Emslie, the Asylum’s Supervising Architect (1877-1880) and Building Superintendent (1878-1880) in pencil and ink. Includes plan for the basement of the Administration Building, 1880
  • Plans of the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane, 1880
    Digital image of watercolor and ink introduction page for Peter Emslie's reproduction of H. H. Richardson's plans for the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane, 1880. Reads, "Plans of the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane shewing all of the floors of the Administration Building and Male Wards A, B, C, D and E, also kitchen and corridor connecting same with Ward B, together with ice-house, laundry, stables, cow-barns, workshop [copyright] 1880. Peter Emslie Building Superintendent."
  • Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane Plan of Laundry, 1880
    Digital image of part of drawing #42 from H. H. Richardson's plans for the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane, as reproduced by Peter Emslie, the Asylum’s Supervising Architect (1877-1880) and Building Superintendent (1878-1880) in pencil, ink, and watercolor. Includes plans for the laundry, 1880
  • Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane Plan of Laundry, 1880
    Digital image of part of drawing #42 from H. H. Richardson's plans for the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane, as reproduced by Peter Emslie, the Asylum’s Supervising Architect (1877-1880) and Building Superintendent (1878-1880) in pencil, ink, and watercolor. Includes the washing room of the laundry, 1880
  • Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane Plan of Laundry, 1880
    Digital image of part of drawing #42 from H. H. Richardson's plans for the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane, as reproduced by Peter Emslie, the Asylum’s Supervising Architect (1877-1880) and Building Superintendent (1878-1880) in pencil, ink, and watercolor. Includes the sewing room, ironing room, and drying room of the laundry, 1880