Worcester State Hospital: Clock Tower Building and Hooper Turret
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The fate of the historic Clock Tower and Hooper Turret is precarious because of a ruling by the National Park Service that the two structures do not quality for Historic Tax Credits. Without tax credits, it is highly unlikely that any organization will take on the redevelopment of the buildings. A meeting was held on July 27, 2011 with Carole Cornelison, Commissioner of the Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM), eight additional DCAM employees, Barbara Leadholm, Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health (DMH), an additional DMH employee, Brandee Laughlin (Massachusetts Historical Commission), Drew Leff (GLC Development Resources) and 8 Preservation Worcester affiliated representatives. At that meeting, updates were given on the Clock Tower and the new hospital. We were informed that because of the condition of the Clock Tower and the expenses associated with redevelopment or stabilization, the state plans to demolish the Clock Tower prior to the opening of the new psychiatric hospital which is scheduled to open in 2012.
The state asked our group to participate in mitigation process. We are not ready to discuss mitigation for the demolition of the Clock Tower, and feel that the state needs to make an attempt to market the Clock Tower prior to considering demolition. We need community support from people interested in preserving the property.
The Worcester State Lunatic Hospital, the original name of the 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 Boston 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 historic hospital campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The hospital was built between 1874 and 1877. With the exception of the Clock Tower and Hooper Turret, the entire facility was demolished to make way for the state’s first new psychiatric hospital in almost fifty years. The $302 million project is one of the largest capital projects commissioned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The facility is scheduled to open in 2012.
The unique Clock Tower stands 250 feet above Lake Quinsigamond and can be seen from a great distance. The Hooper Turret is a freestanding circular building. Both buildings are made of ferruginous gneiss rubble, a fragile stone that was quarried from nearby land, and are bordered with red brick to provide stability and rock-faced granite for ornamentation. The Clock Tower suffers from deferred maintenance and critically needs stabilization.