The Traverse City State Hospital
Sep 3, 2026 · 45 min · 13 segments
Come along with us on a road trip as we explore the dark history and all the paranormal happenings at the Traverse City State Hospital.
- Speakers
Erica AlquistHost
Gina FrigoHost
Sep 3, 2026 · 45 min · 13 segments
Come along with us on a road trip as we explore the dark history and all the paranormal happenings at the Traverse City State Hospital.
Erica AlquistHostGina FrigoHost
So, on today's episode, we set our GPS north and headed to, drumroll please, the Traverse City State Hospital in Traverse City, Michigan.
Operating from 1885 to 1989, it's been known by many names, including the Northern Michigan Asylum, the Traverse City Regional Psychiatric Hospital, and the Northern Michigan State Hospital.
Better known as a Kirkbride Plan Hospital, it focused on beauty is therapy, where it was believed that tons of natural light, fresh air, and therapeutic architecture were means to heal mental illness.
78 Kirkbride psychiatric hospitals were built across North America, Canada, and Australia from 1848 to 1913.
Today, there are around 33 Kirkbride buildings that exist in their original form to some degree.
24 of those are still standing, while the remaining 11 are deteriorating, vacant, or partially demolished.
Because of their architectural and historical significance, 30 of these buildings have been registered with the National Register of Historic Places, and conservationists continue their efforts to protect them from demolition.
And like the Traverse City State Hospital, you can visit and tour a few of them.
Asylum was a large, self-sufficient campus containing a central admin structure alongside 12 patient housing cottages and two patient infirmaries.
Patient wards were designed in a batwing shape, giving them ample ward space for activities with plenty of fresh air and natural light.
The hospital was rarely ever overcrowded because it continued to expand into the massive complex you see today.
The original structure had 300 rooms, and every patient admitted to the Traverse City Hospital typically had their own, and patients were not allowed to go back into their rooms during the day so they could partake in various happenings and activities around the complex and in the wards.
The hospital grounds also included a working farm where patients were given the opportunity to join in the work to help them maintain a sense of purpose while hospitalized.
During her career, she produced 200,114 pounds of milk and 7,525 pounds of butterfat.
So, on today's episode, we set our GPS north and headed to, drumroll please, the Traverse City State Hospital in Traverse City, Michigan.
Operating from 1885 to 1989, it's been known by many names, including the Northern Michigan Asylum, the Traverse City Regional Psychiatric Hospital, and the Northern Michigan State Hospital.
Better known as a Kirkbride Plan Hospital, it focused on beauty is therapy, where it was believed that tons of natural light, fresh air, and therapeutic architecture were means to heal mental illness.
78 Kirkbride psychiatric hospitals were built across North America, Canada, and Australia from 1848 to 1913.
Today, there are around 33 Kirkbride buildings that exist in their original form to some degree.
24 of those are still standing, while the remaining 11 are deteriorating, vacant, or partially demolished.
Because of their architectural and historical significance, 30 of these buildings have been registered with the National Register of Historic Places, and conservationists continue their efforts to protect them from demolition.
And like the Traverse City State Hospital, you can visit and tour a few of them.
Asylum was a large, self-sufficient campus containing a central admin structure alongside 12 patient housing cottages and two patient infirmaries.
Patient wards were designed in a batwing shape, giving them ample ward space for activities with plenty of fresh air and natural light.
The hospital was rarely ever overcrowded because it continued to expand into the massive complex you see today.
The original structure had 300 rooms, and every patient admitted to the Traverse City Hospital typically had their own, and patients were not allowed to go back into their rooms during the day so they could partake in various happenings and activities around the complex and in the wards.
The hospital grounds also included a working farm where patients were given the opportunity to join in the work to help them maintain a sense of purpose while hospitalized.
During her career, she produced 200,114 pounds of milk and 7,525 pounds of butterfat.
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