The Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital

Infobox_nrhp | name =Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital and Gatehouse
nrhp_type = nhl


caption =
location= Towson, Maryland
locmapin = Maryland
area =
built =1860
architect= Vaux,Calvert; Dixon,Thomas & James M.
architecture= Late Gothic Revival, Other
designated = November 11, 1971cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1105&ResourceType=Building
title=Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital and Gate House |accessdate=2008-06-17|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = November 11, 1971cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = Private
refnum=71000369

The Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, known to many simply as Sheppard Pratt, is a psychiatric hospital located in Towson, a northern suburb of Baltimore, Maryland.

Founded in 1853 by Baltimore merchant Moses Sheppard, after a visit by mental health rights advocate and social reformer Dorothea Lynde Dix, the hospital was originally called the Sheppard Asylum. The original buildings were designed by the famous architect Calvert Vaux and constructed on what had previously been a convert|340|acre|km2|sing=on farm. The cornerstone of the original building was laid in spring of 1862.

Sheppard stipulated that the following conditions were to be imposed for the Asylum:

"“Courteous treatment and comfort of all patients; that no patient was to be confined below ground; all were to have privacy, sunlight and fresh air; the asylum's purpose was to be curative, combining science and experience for the best possible results; and that only income, not principal would be used to build and operate the asylum.”"

As a result of these financial restrains, the Asylum did not open until 1891, 34 years after Sheppard's death. It also left it with financial uncertainty, putting its long-term future in doubt.

The future of the Asylum was greatly enhanced when in 1893, the estate of Baltimore merchant Enoch Pratt bequeathed a substantial amount of his fortune to complete the construction and expand the asylum with the stipulation that the name change to The Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital.

In 2000, Sheppard Pratt retained the services HDR, Inc. to design a major expansion to the campus. The largest addition to Sheppard Pratt since its inception. The new addition was as large as the original buildings, encompassing over convert|270000|sqft|m2, effectively doubling the size of the facility.

Today the hospital is one of the leading mental health providers in the United States, being constantly ranked in the top 10 by US News and World Report. It is also in the midst of an expansion and renovation project, moving patient rooms from its twin historic Victorian era buildings to more modern ones.

Books about the hospital

There have been two books written about the hospital to date:
* "The Sheppard & Enoch Pratt Hospital, 1853-1970. A History.", Bliss Forbush (1971)
* "Gatehouse: The evolution of the Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, 1853-1986", Bliss Forbush (1986), ISBN B0006ELCV6

References

External links

* [http://www.sheppardpratt.org Sheppard Pratt website]
* [http://www.marylandhistoricaltrust.net/nr/NRDetail.aspx?HDID=82&FROM=NRNHLList.aspx Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital & Gate House, Baltimore County] , including photo in 2000, at Maryland Historical Trust