APPENDIX V
ADDRESS TO THE PUBLIC BY THE GOVERNORS 1821[[25]]
The Governors of the New-York Hospital have the satisfaction to announce to the public, the completion of the Asylum for the insane; and that it will be open for the reception of patients, from any part of the United States, on the first day of June.
This Asylum is situated on the Bloomingdale road, about seven miles from the City Hall of the city of New-York, and about three hundred yards from the Hudson River. The building is of hewn free-stone, 211 feet in length, and sixty-feet deep, and is calculated for the accommodation of about two hundred patients. Its site is elevated, commanding an extensive and delightful view of the Hudson, the East River, and the Bay and Harbour of New-York, and the adjacent country, and is one of the most beautiful and healthy spots on New-York Island. Attached to the building are about seventy acres of land, a great part of which has been laid out in walks, ornamental grounds, and extensive gardens.
This institution has been established by the bounty of the Legislature of the state of New-York, on the most liberal and enlarged plan, and with the express design to carry into effect that system of management of the insane, happily termed moral treatment, the superior efficacy of which has been demonstrated in several of the Hospitals of Europe, and especially in that admirable establishment of the Society of Friends, called "The Retreat," near York, in England. This mild and humane mode of treatment, when contrasted with the harsh and cruel usage, and the severe and unnecessary restraint, which have formerly disgraced even the most celebrated lunatic asylums, may be considered as one of the noblest triumphs of pure and enlightened benevolence. But it is by no means the intention of the governors to rely on moral, to the exclusion of medical treatment. It is from a judicious combination of both, that the greatest success is to be expected in every attempt to cure or mitigate the disease of insanity.
In the construction of the edifice and in its interior arrangements, it has been considered important to avoid, as far as practicable, consistently with a due regard to the safety of the patients, whatever might impress their minds with the idea of a prison, or a place of punishment, and to make every thing conduce to their health and to their ease and comfort. The self-respect and complacency which may thus be produced in the insane, must have a salutary influence in restoring the mind to its wonted serenity. In the disposition of the grounds attached to the Asylum, everything has been done with reference to the amusement, agreeable occupation, and salutary exercise of the patients.
Agricultural, horticultural, and mechanical employments, may be resorted to, whenever the inclination of the patient, or their probable beneficial effects may render them desirable. To dispel gloomy images, to break morbid associations, to lead the feelings into their proper current, and to restore the mind to its natural poise, various less active amusements will be provided. Reading, writing, drawing, innocent sports, tending and feeding domestic animals, &c. will be encouraged as they may be found conducive to the recovery of the patients. A large garden has been laid out, orchards have been planted, and yards, containing more than two acres, have been inclosed for the daily walks of those whose disorder will not allow more extended indulgence. The plants of the Elgin Botanic garden, presented to this institution by the Trustees of Columbia College, have been arranged in a handsome green-house, prepared for their reception.
The apartments of the house are adapted to the accommodation of the patients, according to their sex, degree of disease, habits of life, and the wishes of their friends. The male and female apartments are entirely separated, so as to be completely secluded from the view of each other.