South Park Grounds - Oregon State Hospital Historic District - Salem, Oregon - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

Well-designed landscaping was considered a key part of the therapy in Dr. Thomas Kirkbride's mental hospital plan. The south park grounds were originally designed with the intention of providing calm, pleasant surroundings for hospital residents.

Originally, the park included a lily pond with a bridge to a center "island" in the pond. The pond has been gone for decades and in 1984, a "memorial circle" took its place, featuring a granite marker in commemoration of the residents who lived and died at the hospital. There have been multiple proposals to either restore the original pond and bridge design, or to build fill in the memorial circle with trees, shrubs and other plants.

Today the south grounds also contain a number of walkways, streets that are closed to vehicle traffic, many trees and a tennis court.

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Name of Historic District (as listed on the NRHP): Oregon State Hospital Historic District Link to nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com page with the Historic District: [Web Link] NRHP Historic District Waymark (Optional): [Web Link] Address: Center Street Salem, Oregon 97301 How did you determine the building to be a contributing structure?: Narrative found on the internet (Link provided below) Optional link to narrative or database: [Web Link]

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