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All the United States Ohio Athens Athens Lunatic Asylum

Athens Lunatic Asylum

An abandoned asylum incorporated into a college campus.

Athens, Ohio

Added By
Cynthia Pelayo
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Athens Lunatic Asylum   Wikimedia
Athens Lunatic Asylum   Wikimedia
Athens Lunatic Asylum   Complex.com
Athens Lunatic Asylum   forgottenoh.com
Sneaking a peek into the basement of the administration building through a broken window. The place is built like a fortress.   rbt45769 / Atlas Obscura User
Caught the sun just right over the admin building!   rbt45769 / Atlas Obscura User
Each floor of the asylum has a different style of window barrier. Look closely.   rbt45769 / Atlas Obscura User
Drone shot of the Ridges complex   TravelwithAustin / Atlas Obscura User
A hidden original pillar (employees only section)   TravelwithAustin / Atlas Obscura User
The striking domed roof of the theatre building on the asylum grounds.   rbt45769 / Atlas Obscura User
The Display Room (employee only section)   TravelwithAustin / Atlas Obscura User
The aftermath of the destruction of building #20   TravelwithAustin / Atlas Obscura User
A beautifully restored stairway of the former administration building.   rbt45769 / Atlas Obscura User
The first floor of the former administration building has an art gallery in it.   rbt45769 / Atlas Obscura User
A display of the Ridges completed in the 1970’s   TravelwithAustin / Atlas Obscura User
One of the three burial grounds for the Athens Lunatic Asylum. Burials were discontinued in 1972.   rbt45769 / Atlas Obscura User
The earlier gravestones had no names on them, just numbers.   rbt45769 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Athens Lunatic Asylum opened in 1874 on 141 acres and it was designed for 500 patients. By the 1950s it had expanded to a facility with 78 buildings on 1,000 acres. During its active years tens of thousands of patients were treated with around 1,800 buried in cemetaries on the ground.

At one time it was the largest employer in the state of Ohio. However, it was the patients who worked the grounds. That is, until catatonic drugs became common. Archives on the asylum show that hydrotherapy, electroshock therapy, lobotomies, and psychotropic drugs were all used as treatments.

The asylum closed in 1993, and the property was bought by Ohio University. Today as renovations continue the old asylum has several uses, such as a daycare, art museum,art studios, surplus store, Biotech labs, OU Police Department, and education related uses. 

The Ridges is also known for its use of the kirkbride plan a unique and distinct asylum plan that used a batwing design and was built on the idea of moral treatment. Kirkbrides featured lots of natural light and airflow. Today the Ridges may be considered the largest and most complete example of a kirkbride still standing.

Related Tags

Abandoned Insane Asylums Ruins

Know Before You Go

The Art Museum is open to anyone during operating times, but other than that most of the asylum is off limits to visitors. Feel free to walk the expansive grounds at your leisure! 

Community Contributors

Added By

cinapelayo

Edited By

Molly McBride Jacobson, TravelwithAustin, rbt45769, atomicdecay

  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • TravelwithAustin
  • rbt45769
  • atomicdecay

Published

April 8, 2013

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Athens Lunatic Asylum
S Plains Rd
Athens, Ohio, 45701
United States
39.323669, -82.112726
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