About Richardson Olmsted Complex

In the latter half of the 19th century, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux worked with architect Henry Hobson Richardson to create the Buffalo State Hospital. The building conformed to the Kirkbride Plan of treatment, which was developed by Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride to encourage the creation of calm, airy environments for people with mental illness.  

In 1869, the New York State legislature authorized the creation of a new mental asylum for Western New York. Thanks to a free supply of “pure Niagara water,” Buffalo won the bid, and Olmsted, who was nearing completion on the city’s park system, was asked to design the grounds of the 203-acre campus. Olmsted then recommended his friend Richardson as the architect.  

Construction began on the hospital in 1871, and nine years later, with only the eastern wing and its five connected wing buildings completed, the complex opened its doors as the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane. Construction on the western wing and its buildings began after Richardson’s death, lasting from 1889 to 1896.   

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the campus continuously evolved to accommodate changing treatments for mental illness. Additionally, a piece of the campus’ 100-acre working farm was sold for the creation of Buffalo State University and a parking lot was placed over part of Olmsted’s South Lawn.  

The 1963 Community Mental Health Act resulted in the discharge of many patients and a new focus on modernization that eventually led to the demolition of the three easternmost wing buildings of the Richardson building. Patients were officially moved out of the historic buildings in 1974.    

The Buffalo State Hospital was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and then designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986. In the early 2000s, preservation became a focal point of the campus. A lawsuit in 2006 secured $100 million in state funding for rehabilitation. Subsequently, a master plan was developed, stabilization began and the remaining 42 acres of the campus were open to the public. 

Olmsted’s South Lawn was revitalized in 2013. The project removed the 1933 parking lot addition, planted 125 new trees and created a welcoming space for recreation and gathering.  

In 2014, three of the historic buildings were transformed into a hotel and conference center. The project won several preservation awards, including the prestigious Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Award.  

Today, guests can enjoy the grounds year-round, attend a variety of docent-led historical tours and book a stay at the Richardson Hotel.