Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Michigan Traverse City Traverse City State Hospital

Traverse City State Hospital

Former self-sufficient mental institution now a planned community.

Traverse City, Michigan

Added By
takomabibelot
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traverse_City...
  http://www.thevillagetc.com/architecture_g...
  Cap0396 / Atlas Obscura User
Timeline 1   Cap0396 / Atlas Obscura User
  Cap0396 / Atlas Obscura User
Timeline 2   Cap0396 / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In 1885, the state of Michigan opened its third mental institution in Traverse City, under the supervision of Dr. James Decker Munson. The institution built twelve cottages, as well as two infirmaries, for the needs of its male and female residents. The original central administrative building was a hallmark of Victorian-Italiante architecture, but it was sadly demolished in 1963, after the state deemed it a fire hazard. The twelve smaller cottages, which date from 1885 to 1903, still stand, though in modified form.

Dr. Munson believed in the "beauty as therapy" method, so the grounds were covered with trees and flowers (grown in their green house), and none of the patients were restrained with the then-common straitjacket. The asylum was completely self-sufficient. The patients worked making furniture, canning fruit, and farming, all to earn funds for the hospital. The hospital produced its own steam to heat and electrify the buildings.

Over time, the space was used to treat other diseases, such as tuberculosis, polio, and, in the mid-late 1980s, as a drug rehabilitation center. But in 1989, the state closed the hospital.

In a strange twist of fate, the property was purchased by the Minervini Group, which agreed to renovate the deteriorating buildings in order to develop the land for commercial and residential use. By 2005, many parts of the south wing were open as hotels and apartments, as well as commercial ventures, such as an urban winery, coffee roaster, and bakery. The full-renovation is scheduled to be finished by 2010.

While today very different, the Village at Grand Traverse Commons still evokes a time when the mentally unwell lived here in a harmony rarely found in the sane world.

Related Tags

Insane Asylums Memento Mori

Community Contributors

Added By

takomabibelot

Edited By

Rebekah Otto, Cap0396

  • Rebekah Otto
  • Cap0396

Published

October 11, 2010

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/takomabibelot/477522031/
  • http://www.roadsideamerica.com/pet/asylumcow.html
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traverse_City_State_Hospital
Traverse City State Hospital
1200 W. 11th St.
Traverse City, Michigan, 49684
United States
44.75644, -85.642633
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Tunnels of Traverse City State Hospital

Traverse City, Michigan

miles away

The Hippie Tree

Traverse City, Michigan

miles away

Traverse Colantha Walker's Grave

Traverse City, Michigan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Traverse City

Traverse City

Michigan

Places 17

Nearby Places

Tunnels of Traverse City State Hospital

Traverse City, Michigan

miles away

The Hippie Tree

Traverse City, Michigan

miles away

Traverse Colantha Walker's Grave

Traverse City, Michigan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Traverse City

Traverse City

Michigan

Places 17

Related Places

  • (Justus Hayes/Shoes on Wires/shoesonwires.com/Flickr)

    Coquitlam, British Columbia

    Riverview Hospital

    Historic psychiatric asylum and most-filmed location in the Great White North.

  • The ruins in 2014

    Seacliff, New Zealand

    Seacliff Asylum Ruins

    The remains of a notorious mental institution that became known for its structural design failures and experiments carried out on patients.

  • Taunton, Massachusetts

    Taunton State Hospital

    This historic psychiatric hospital is haunted by its chilling past.

  • Chiesa di Santa Croce detta “Dei Morti”

    Canneto sull'Oglio, Italy

    Chiesa di Santa Croce detta 'Dei Morti'

    Photographs of the faces of the town's dead cover the walls of this small Italian church.

  • If you believe in ghosts, this former insane asylum is a great place to go hunting.

    Monticello, Iowa

    Edinburgh Manor

    Spend the night in this former asylum for the incurably insane, which claims to be one of the most haunted places in the United States.

  • A bronze fast of a female face atop a pedestal with a lighthouse in the background

    New York, New York

    Girl Puzzle Monument

    An art installation commemorates journalist Nellie Bly's undercover reporting inside a New York asylum.

  • Coffin Crypts of Brashear’s Cemetery

    Combs, Arkansas

    False Crypts of Brashears Cemetery

    There are no bodies inside these stone coffins. And there never were.

  • Replica

    London, England

    Memento Mori Pendant

    The Ranger’s House exhibits fine mementos collected by Sir Julius Werner during the course of his life, including this infamous pendant.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.