Worcester State Hospital
Clock Tower Building & Hooper Turret
305 Belmont Street
 |
 |
The Worcester State Lunatic Hospital, the original name of the current Worcester State Hospital, was the first state owned hospital established in this country to treat mental illnesses. It was designed by architects Weston and Rand of Worcester in the Victorian Gothic style. The original design was created to reflect the ideas of Dr. Thomas Kirkbride, who promoted the “moral treatment” of the mentally ill.
The hospital was built between 1874 and 1877. The unique clock tower, easily the most recognized portion of the building, stands 250 feet above Lake Quinsigamond and can be seen from a great distance. The entire hospital complex is built of ferruginous gneiss rubble, a fragile stone that was quarried from nearby land and is bordered with red brick to provide stability and rock-faced granite for ornamentation. The wings which flanked the clock tower were 3½ stories high and receded in three stages.
This historic Hospital Campus with its many buildings is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A $250 million bond bill has been approved and the Massachusetts Department of Capital and Asset Management (DCAM) will construct for the Department of Mental Health (DMH) the state’s first new psychiatric hospital in almost 50 years. The complex will combine two archaic mental hospitals presently located in Worcester and Westborough and unite them on the grounds of Worcester State Hospital. Changes have been made in the architectural plans due to significant cost increases. A review of costs relative to hospital needs is being examined at this time. Currently, much of the hospital is being demolished in order that the new psychiatric hospital can be located on the site of the original hospital. Only the Clock Tower which requires stabilization and the Hooper Turret will remain to be historically preserved.
Over the past four years, Preservation Worcester has been negotiating with the state concerning the fate of the two historic structures. In a Memorandum of Agreement reached between Preservation Worcester, the Worcester Historical Commission and the Massachusetts Historical Commission, DCAM (Division of Capital Asset Management) is conducting a Development Options Study for the reuse and redevelopment of the two buildings. The state is finalizing recommendations and creating options for future redevelopment.