Home > California > Santa%252525252BClara > Agnews State Hospital, Assembly Hall, Intersection of Palm Drive & South Circle Drive, Santa Clara, Santa Clara County, CA
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Item Title
Agnews State Hospital, Assembly Hall, Intersection of Palm Drive & South Circle Drive, Santa Clara, Santa Clara County, CA
LocationIntersection of Palm Drive & South Circle Drive,
Santa%252525252BClara, CA
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Created/Published
Documentation compiled after 1933.
Notes
Survey number HABS CA-2710-B
Building/structure dates:
1908 initial construction
Building/structure dates:
1954 subsequent work
Building/structure dates:
1958 subsequent work
Building/structure dates:
1959 subsequent work
Building/structure dates:
1996 subsequent work
Significance: Building 2 is significant as an integral component of the 1908 reconstruction of Agnews State Hospital in a pavilion plan. The new design for the hospital represented not only a reconfiguration of buildings into smaller structures in a park-like setting, but an important change in the perspectives on and treatment of patients. Agnews was the first mental facility in California to switch from the confinement and permanent housing of patients to scientific treatment with the hope of release. Progressive Era reformers nationwide adopted recreation as a tool to shape behavior. At Agnews, superintendent Dr. Leonard Stocking believed recreation was a useful and humane treatment for the mentally insane. In keeping with this mission, Building 2, the Amusement Hall, housed spaces for performances, social gatherings, billiards, music, and other diversions. In addition, Building 2 and the other structures from the 1908 plan are important as early attempts to use reinforced concrete as an earthquake and fire-resistant material.
Related Names
Porter, William A., Photographer
Stock, Jody, Historian
Corbett, Michael, Historian
Collection
Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
Contents
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