Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center's Old Main
Building Reopens
Renovated Facility to Store OMH Documents and Records
Sharon E. Carpinello, RN., Ph.D., Commissioner of the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH), was joined by local officials and community leaders on Wednesday, May 25 to officially reopen the Old Main Building at Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center as the OMH Record and Artifact Center. Tours of the renovated building, conducted by current and former psychiatric center employees and by members of the Landmarks Society of Greater Utica, followed the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The large limestone Greek Revival building first opened in 1843 as the first New York State-operated facility for the mentally ill, and operated as a inpatient psychiatric facility until it closed in 1978. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and in 1989 its status was elevated to National Historic Landmark.
"I would like to thank Governor Pataki for his leadership in finding an important new use for this historic building, and making this restoration project a reality," said Sharon E. Carpinello, R.N., Ph.D., Commissioner of the New York State Office of Mental Health. "I would also like to acknowledge the ongoing support of the Landmarks Society of Greater Utica. There has been tremendous community interest in the Old Main Building's future, and OMH is pleased to breathe life back into this magnificent landmark."
The building is now reopening as the first New York State facility to organize and preserve the State records and artifacts related to the care, maintenance and recovery of individuals with mental illness. Renovation of the historic building's first floor was determined to be a cost-effective solution to OMH's growing need for medical record and document storage, and work began in 2002. The renovation project cost approximately $900,000, and was partially funded by $200,000 Federal Save America's Treasures grant. Most of the construction and renovation work was completed by an OMH Revitalization Special Project Crew, a team of OMH craftsmen assembled to complete a specific project in a time and cost-efficient manner.
Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League of New York State, presented an Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation for the renovation of the Old Main building from the League to OMH Commissioner Carpinello. He said, "The Office of Mental Health's effort to preserve and reuse New York State's first institution built to provide care for the mentally ill demonstrates inspiring adaptive reuse strategies. The Awards Jury was particularly impressed by the care taken in restoring original features including the woodwork and antique lighting, all in a cost-effective manner."
The new Records and Artifact Center will store documents and records currently kept by individual facilities, that must be retained for audits, operational history, and/or transfer to the New York State Archives. The New York State Archives and Records Administration has donated $35,000 of high quality records storage shelving to the new facility, which will be open and staffed on a limited basis to accept records and artifacts from facilities, retrieve and return documents as necessary, and identify and retrieve documents for transfer to the State Archives or destruction. The new Center will free individual facility space currently used for record storage, making it available for treatment or other operational needs; reduce costs related to storage; and ensure preservation of documents until transfer to the State Archives.
It is anticipated that the building will begin receiving records from OMH psychiatric centers early this Summer.