Athens Lunatic Asylum (The Ridges)Suspected

Dated: Opened 1874
Declared purpose: State hospital for the mentally ill (Kirkbride plan)
Today: Survives, now Ohio University's The Ridges
Build time: About 6 years (1868–74)
Region: United States
Architect of record: Levi T. Scofield, architect: about 26 when credited (1868, born 1842). Build time on record: about 6 years (1868–74).All architects of record →
On the list as: Suspected

Why it's on the list

Same Kirkbride plan as dozens of other state hospitals.

Hidden history

Found, Not Built

A brick Kirkbride-plan hospital on a hill above Athens. It closed in 1993 and is now part of Ohio University.

Why researchers flag it
Same Kirkbride plan as dozens of other state hospitals.
Another Kirkbride
The same stepped-wing plan as Weston, Danvers and Buffalo.
A university takes it
The campus became part of Ohio University, a reuse pattern seen at other asylums.
Architect of record
Levi T. Scofield (born 1842) was about 26 when credited with the design in 1868. The Architects of Record page asks how often a young or little-known name delivers a landmark.