A patient at St. Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, D.C., 1955
Courtesy National Library of Medicine
St. Elizabeths Hospital was a federally funded mental hospital. It reached its peak population of 7,529 people in 1955, one of the largest in the country.
In the 1950s, mental health advocacy and changes in psychiatry led groups like the American Psychiatric Association and the National Institute of Mental Health to call for alternatives to institutions like St. Elizabeths. They proposed outpatient clinics and community mental health centers.
