Oregon State Hospital for the Insane - Salem, Oregon
Posted by: 
ddtfamily
N 44° 56.339 W 123° 00.308
10T E 499594 N 4976173
The primary state-run psychiatric hospital in the state of Oregon
Waymark Code: WMFJW2
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 10/27/2012
Views: 3
"19. The OREGON STATE HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE (open 10-12, 2-4, daily except Sat., Sun. and holidays), Center and 24th Sts., was established in 1880. Flower-bordered drives lead to the buildings and through the grounds. Twenty-five hundred patients are cared for, many of whom work on the hospital farm a few miles south of the institution." -Oregon: End of the Trail, 1940
The oldest part of the remaining structure was built in 1883 as the Oregon State Insane Asylum. The facility is best known as the filming location for Ken Kesey's novel "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Actor for star Jack Nicholson.
When established, the facility provided what at the time was the "state-of-the-art" in mental health care. But over the years, the care provided at the facility, along with the buildings, deteriorated. In 2005, an architectural assessment of the facility determined that the site was unsafe. In 2006, the hospital was fined $10,200 for asbestos violations. Another controversy at the hospital involved the fate of over 5,000 cans of human cremated remains (cremains) warehoused at the site. A 2008 report by the U.S. Justice Department criticized the quality of care provided at the facility.
In 2008, work began to tear down most of the dilapidated main building. The $458 million project resulted in a new, 620-bed facility, with portions of the Kirkbride building preserved, now housing the Museum of Mental Health.
About two-thirds of the facility residents were found guilty of crimes but found to be insane. Most other patients are there because they are a danger to themselves or others.