Lee Negendank
What's to be done with the former Northampton State Hospital?
I reach out to grab a branch Micaela holds. The brush is very thick but we are determined to have a closer look. We reach the massive brick building and get that wonderful feeling of discovering something that has been right under our noses the entire time. When we toured the site of the former Northampton State Hospital this last time, we explored all the crevices and any possible openings to the insides of the buildings. The site of the former Northampton State Hospital is magnificent. There are numerous buildings, all with outstanding architecture, acres of fields with its own ecology and an atmosphere unique to itself.
While I have no specific uses of what should become of the former Northampton State Hospital, I do know that I do not want to see the buildings torn down, or left to crumble in their own time.
One possible use for the former state hospital is a Grand Hotel, as well as office space, low income housing, and a memorial to the hospital. The main complex makes for a great main building to a hotel. With the main entrance becoming a lobby (entryway) connecting with a long meandering drive, circling from the main road to the front of this massive building. Opening the door to this beautiful mansion, walking up the magnificent staircase and exploring the variety of suites it has to offer, one can imagine the awesomeness and beauty of it all. The awesomeness of the main complex allows for connection with many different areas of the building, which can be used for various things; such as restaurants, conference centers, indoor pool and exercise room, meeting rooms, or anything of the sort. The restaurant can be off the back (old cafeteria maybe?) and can serve the people of Pioneer Valley as well as the residents of the hotel. There can be a conference center, allowing space for conferences, reunions, and even proms.
The idea of a hotel would stimulate the Northampton economy in a variety of ways. The hotel would open up a lot of jobs for inhabitants of the surrounding area. With such a large occupancy load, you would need numerous people for management and desk positions, room cleaning staff, bell hops, valet parking attendants, as well as people to staff the different activities that the hotel could offer. The opening of a grand hotel would also offer more business to local industries. The guests would probably spend a fair amount of their time in the area creating a booming industry for Northampton as well as the rest of the Pioneer Valley.
The size of the former State Hospital is very large and, in my opinion, can be used in two ways. The first being that everything goes along with the hotel theme. The hotel can occupy all of the buildings, creating a children's facility, art center of some kind, more restaurants, anything. Or they can just take up the main complex and the other buildings can be used for other purposes. The Haskell building could be used as office space, much like it is now. The D and E buildings can be used as a remembrance of the hospital; it can be a museum administered by the city of Northampton, expatients/consumer/survivors, and those interested in making sure that the hospital is not forgotten. The Memorial Complex can be used for housing of many different types.
The Haskell building seems most logical for office space because right now, that's what it is being used for. Also, it is set apart from the other complexes so anyone working there wouldn't have to interact with the hotel attendees or the residences of the housing development. They will have separate parking lots and even possibly separate entrances. It is also one of the larger buildings that can be renovated with ease (without altering its outward appearance too much).
The D and E complex is one of my personal favorites. It has that old colonial look about it and has the best view. It is in an ideal place for a remembrance facility because it is set off of the main road, so it can be open to the public. It is also large enough so that a variety of things can happen in there. A museum remembering the hospital, its purpose and those who served in it and by it is necessary no matter what becomes of the rest of the land. I think people need to realize how the world thought over a hundred years ago, and how those thoughts changed, and how those changes affected the community of Northampton. I think the D and E complex is the best building for this purpose.
The Memorial complex would be the perfect place for a housing facility because it can be separate from the rest of the facilities, keeping each one sort of separate from the other. From seeing pictures of how the Memorial complex looked while it was still being kept up, one could see that it could be nice homes; apartments, condominiums possibly even a combination of the two. They could be low-income housing, or not. You could add additional facilities in the available space to enhance the need for tenants. A swimming pool, exercise area, small meeting area(s), mini restaurant, general store are all examples of things that could be put into the memorial complex as well as the housing.
All of these things are suggestions that will work for the state hospital land whether the hotel idea is used or not. The hotel idea is still my favorite, and I think it allows the best use for the existing buildings; which is my main priority. These buildings are too gorgeous and carry to much history in their walls to be allowed to crumble into nothing. I hope that this never happens and I hope that people realize what they have on their hands. It's not every day that 500 acres with over 20 gorgeous buildings becomes vacant and allowed to be renovated into something that can benefit a majority of the people. I think that these structures are one of a kind and that they should be treated with the sensitivity and care that they once gave to others. (All of this is assuming that the buildings are safe for entry, or can be made safe for entry. As well as assuming that people want/have the money to spend on this crusade.)[Close this window to return to the class picture]