The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1878-06-27


Columbus and It's Public
Buildings s-The New In
sane Asylum.
Columbus, O., June. 1878.
EDITOR NEws:-On my return trip
from Northern Ohio, I stopped
awhile in Columbus. The present
population of this Capital city is
about $4,000, which shows a marked
growth in the decade. Tt is fast be-
coming one Of the largest and
most important and prosperous in
land cities in the Union.
Notwithstanding the stringency
of the times, a great many buildings
are being erected, and the city is ez-
tending itsborders in every direction.
The State House, costing 81, ,5OO,-
OOO,isa beautiful and substantial
stone structure. This and the chari
table institutions and other public
buildings belonging to the State and
located at Columbus, are buildings
which do credit to the great State of
Ohio, The Blind Asylum, which
cost 100000; the Deaf and Dumb
Asylum, which cost S66OOOO; the
Asylum for Idiots, which cost $780,
600 and that grand and beautiful
new structure, known as "The Co
lumbus Hospital for the Insane, cost
ing 81, 100000, make a grand total
of nearly S3,OOO,OOO, expended for
the erection Of buildings solely for
charitable purposes
The last-named structure is a no
bic edifce, standing on the ridge,
three miles west of the city. It has
an eastern frontage of about 100
feet, and is composed of eight wings
for patients, four on each side of the
center building, receding from the
same. The central part has a depth
of 500 feet.
The patients wings are construct
ed with a corridor, or promenading
court, or day room, Is feet by 1856,
in the center, with patients rooms
opening on each side, thus forming
a ward. These wings average about
1856 feet long, and are connected
together by receding wings, wherein
are located the dining-rooms, water
closets, baths and lavatOIies. Pa.
tients wings are three and four sto-
ries high, and contain 80 wards, said
wards having an average capacity ot
about 80 patients each. Each ward
is supplied with its respective pa
tients' parlor, dining-room, dead-ifts
dumb-waiters, etc.
The front portion of the center
building is the administration build
ing, containing the officers, business
and living rooms. The middle part
of the center building contains the
theate7. or amusement hall. chanel
etc, the rear end of the center build
ing being devoted to mechanical ant
domestic purposes, as kitchen, laun
dry, oven, machinery, boilers fOl
heating and power, engines, etc
these buildings being four stories
high.
The structure presents an impos
ing and impressive view from th.
city. It is embellished with numer
GUS towers, spires and turrets, o
various designs, which give to i
quite a picturesque tone. It is
grand structure, for a most nobl
purpose, and no vandll hands should
be laid upon it or any of these char
table institutions, which are an out
growth only of Christian lands, an,
hence an argument for Christianit
itself. And when a political part
becomes so regardless of the publ
trust confded to it, as to make
sweeping change in its officers an,
managers, thus crippling the insti
tuition for usefulness, merely t
advance party ends, as the Demo
Gratis have recently done, it deserve
signal defeat at the next election, i
. order to show them their unworthi
ness and want of fitness to govern
To give your readers a better ide
of the magnitude and capacity c
this Hospital for the In ane," le
me add that there were used in tn
building about 35,OOO,OOO brick, tn
circumference of the building beinI
; one and one-eighth miles. Ais
100000 pounds of iron work wer
used, comprising $500 lineal feet {
( iron stairways, nearly seven-eighth
Of mile. The steam heating, ven
: ilating and water-suPply apparatus
, plumbing and gas piping, sewer
f pipes, foul-air ducts, eistern conneC
tions and other like works, have col
sumed almost 100 miles of pipes, {
5 various materials and sizes. Ther
are about two acres Of floor area
more than one and a half acres {
, slate and iron roofing, and nearl
, forty acres of plastering.
Both the Hospital for the Insan
! and the Idiot Asylum, which al
probably one-half mile apart, have
Joint system of water supply, b
which pure, clear, filtered water
y supplied by pipes and pumps, frol
!, the Scioto river, and the sewage
. 1 80 Al. ,s--,-- COW