Insane Asylum (Closed)
Buffalo, NY
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

Here’s one that really stops you in your tracks. The massive Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane looks like something straight out of a Hitchcock horror movie, with those twin towers looming over row after row of long, dark hospital wings. Even in daylight, the place has a pretty serious creepy factor. 03-08

The asylum was designed by H.H. Richardson, one of the big names in American architecture, and construction began in the 1870s. The central building and first wards opened in 1880. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux also designed the grounds, giving the huge complex an almost park-like setting. Quite a contrast with that fortress-like building sitting in the middle of it.

The asylum followed the old Kirkbride plan, which meant long staggered wings, lots of windows, fresh air, and sunlight. At its peak in 1950, more than 2,700 patients lived here. By the 1970s the old wards were being emptied, and the historic complex was eventually left largely abandoned.

Insane Asylum
Buffalo, NY
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

Of course, a place like this was bound to pick up a few ghost stories. The empty wards and underground tunnels have long been rumored to be haunted, with stories of strange noises and shadowy figures floating around local lore. Whether any of that is true or not, wandering past this place in 2008 probably didn’t require much imagination.

The copper-topped towers are especially hard to forget. They were originally finished differently, but the tops were reclad in copper in 1918, giving them the green look seen today. Between the towers, the endless wings, and all those windows, this is one roadside stop that definitely has a little Psycho atmosphere going for it.

UPDATE: The central buildings were later restored and converted into a hotel, first opening as Hotel Henry in 2017 and reopening in 2023 as The Richardson Hotel. Several of the old ward buildings remain part of the larger historic campus. 08-26