State officials announce new plan to redevelop Harrisburg State Hospital

HARRISBURG, Pa. — State officials announced a new plan for the future of the Department of General Services Annex, formerly known as the Harrisburg...

November 29, 2022
2:16 AM

HARRISBURG, Pa. — State officials announced a new plan for the future of the Department of General Services Annex, formerly known as the Harrisburg State Hospital. The history of the site goes back to 1851, when Pennsylvania's first mental hospital was built there. At the time, it was called the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital and Union Asylum for the Insane. Capacity at the complex peaked at 2,441 but eventually was whittled down by the development of new psychiatric medicines and deinstitutionalization.

Harri Leigh