Utica Psychiatric Center - Old Main

03/21/2022

THIS PAGE IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE NYS DEPT OF MENTAL HEALTH.

Hello,

After 5+ years, I will no longer be answering messages on this page. The messages I receive are almost always one of the following four questions, so here are the answers:

Q: Can I book a tour?
A: No. Old Main is not regularly open for tours. You cannot book a tour. When tours are announced, they are advertised via Utica-area media, such as WKTV and the Utica O-D.

Q: But I want a tour...
A: Seriously, I cannot help you. Old Main is owned and run by the NYS Dept. of Mental Health. This is the only contact I have for them regarding Old Main: OldMainTours@omh.ny.gov

Q: My relative/ancestor was a patient at Old Main. How do I find their records?
A: Most institutional records in the U.S. (asylums, hospitals, orphanages) were sealed when HIPAA came into effect, even if the records are too old for the statute to technically apply. This is a common frustration for genealogists.

There is no easy way to research an ancestor who was institutionalized. The only readily available records are federal and state census records (which list “inmates” in residence during that year), local newspapers (fultonhistory.com) for obits, “incidents” and runaways, or death certificates (accessibility varies based on year of death).

Estate executors or those with power of attorney at time of death may have some legal standing to access records. We have not heard of any success stories in accessing patient files through legal channels.

Q: Can I hunt for ghosts at Old Main?
A: Old Main is commonly noted as a haunted location for those who believe in ghosts. I’ve answered this before, but hunting for the possibly tortured/trapped spirits of people’s deceased relatives at a former asylum is a pretty brutal and insensitive past time.

I’m a historian, so I try to interpret, not preach, but I seriously draw the line on this one. Old Main is a sensitive historical site, both for surviving patients, their families, and descendants of people who were institutionalized at Old Main. Their suffering is not for your amusement. Learn from it, but don’t make light of it. The site is still an active psychiatric campus. Be respectful.

THIS PAGE IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE NYS DEPT OF MENTAL HEALTH. This page was established to share photos and historical accounts of Old Main.

02/16/2020

12/18/2019

A photo of holiday decor at Old Main during the late nineteenth century or early twentieth century from the Oneida County History Center Collection.

Commonly referred to as ‘Old Main,’ the Utica State Hospital opened in 1843. Dr. Amariah Brigham served as its first director and implemented revolutionary methods of the care for his patients. His research focused on theories that deemed insanity an illness. He believed that kindness and gentleness were preferable to mechanical restraint, and that work would prove more curative than idleness and brooding.

Dr. Nathan D. Benedict succeeded Dr. Brigham. He continued and expanded upon Brigham's methods. He introduced the use of music in the treatment of his patients, installed a fine organ in the asylum, and developed a choir. Benedict also allowed patients to attend concerts in the city. Dr. Benedict's poor health led to his resignation in 1854.

This early photo from inside the hospital with its festive decorations coincides with Dr. Brigham’s and Dr. Benedict's way of thinking.

04/13/2019

“Some rare and seldom seen photos will accompany the presentation. Pictures of the massive building, with descriptions of its architecturally significant structure, are also included. Some of the program is part of a personal experience when Bottini was a docent for one of the public tours of the building.”

County Historian Joseph P. Bottini is set to offer an illustrated presentation about the New York State Lunatic Asylum on April 17th.

10/01/2018

“In a more passive sense, patients were mistreated through sheer neglect and stigmatization, as the focus of asylums shifted from therapeutics to warehousing in an attempt to keep the “feeble-minded” and insane out of the public eye. For those who have been institutionalized, there is a very real haunting – not by ghosts, but by trauma.”

This past spring, the defunct Willard Psychiatric Center (previously known as the Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane) in Ovid, New York, opened its doors for tours — one day only, with no …

07/11/2018

I, as a page administrator, receive multiple inquiries a year from ghost chasers and thrill seekers looking to hunt the paranormal at Old Main. Many of us grew up hearing stories and urban legends about Old Main, but I would like to ask that we treat Old Main and other former asylums with the care we might extend to a battlefield. Many people died, sometimes in horrible ways, but they suffered, and their families suffered. In life or death, haunted or not, I ask that you extend your respects.

Please also remember that there are still active mental health care facilities on the Old Main campus.

There are no paranormal tours offered. To my knowledge, the state does not allow any ghost hunters, psychics or mediums on site for the purpose of paranormal studies. Repeat inquiries to this page of this nature may not be answered.

-Admin

*These views are that of the page administrator and may or may not reflect the views of the NYS Office of Mental Health, the Landmarks Society of Greater Utica or other affiliated entities.

06/02/2018

Haven't been on an Old Main tour yet? The Office of Mental Health has a YouTube channel with the videos that make up part of the tour. Hear about the facility from the people who were there during its last decades of operation!

05/17/2018

The Old Main building in Utica will once again open its doors for free tours this spring.

05/10/2018

The moment you've all been waiting for...a 2018 tour date!

(Please note that we are an unofficial page and cannot assist with reservations. You know everything we do!)

Old Main Tours are back for one day in 2018! Join the NYS Office of Mental Health for tours Friday, June 8 from 4:00-8:00 pm. To register please email OldMainTours@omh.ny.gov

Built in 1843, the New York State Lunatic Asylum, locally know as "Old Main" was the first publicly-funded institution to care for and help treat the mentally ill in New York State.

10/22/2017

Pennhurst Asylum in Spring City, PA opened in 1908 and closed amid controversy and abuse allegations in 1987. Today, the building is used as a haunted house, and that’s not sitting well with mental health patients or the families who had relatives institutionalized there a mere 30 years ago.

I, as a page administrator, receive multiple inquiries a year from ghost chasers and sensationalists looking to put Old Main on their list of horrors (including a blogger from England, whom I doubt has set foot in NYS, let alone the Utica Psych complex.) Many of us grew up hearing stories and urban legends about Old Main, but I would like to ask that, as Halloween approaches, we treat Old Main and other former asylums with the care we might extend to a battlefield. Many people died, sometimes in horrible ways, but they suffered, and their families suffered. In life or death, haunted or not, I ask that you extend your respects as we approach Hallow’s Eve.

-Admin

*These views are that of the page administrator and may or may not reflect the views of the NYS Office of Mental Health, the Landmarks Society of Greater Utica or other affiliated entities.

We have agreed, as a society, that certain offenses go too far. It's time to acknowledge that Pennhurst and its ilk do so too.