St. Elizabeths Hospital was the first large scale government-run psychiatric hospital in the U.S. It was founded by Dorothea Dix, a pioneering advocate for the mentally ill. It opened in 1855 as the Government Hospital for the Insane; in 1916, its name was changed to St. Elizabeths (the colonial-era name for the area in which the hospital was built).

The campus of St. Elizabeths is in Washington, DC on high ground near the meeting of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. It has several important buildings (some of which, like many 18th and 19th century structures in Washington, were built by slave labor) designed by the leading architects of the day. Much of the campus has fallen out of use and is today in serious disrepair; St. Elizabeths has been named by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of the most endangered historical sites in the country.

St. Elizabeths has treated over 125,000 patients, many of whom are buried on its grounds. Several important therapeutic techniques were pioneered at St. Elizabeths, and it has served as a model for later institutions. Notable patients have included Ezra Pound, John Hinckley, and William Chester Minor.

In 1987, the District of Columbia took over the operation of the hospital after the Department of Health and Human Services abandoned it. Although it continues to operate, it operates on a far smaller scale than it did formerly. As of 2005, the city is considering ways to redevelop the 356-acre (1.4 km²) site with most plans including both residential and retail development. It also has been suggested as a permanent home for the Department of Homeland Security or the U.S. Coast Guard. The land around the hospital is owned by both D.C. and the federal government, complicating redevelopment efforts.

External Link:

• NIH site - Historic Medical Sites in the Washington, DC Area