Dexter Asylum

Built In

1830

History

Ebenezer Knight Dexter bequeathed part of his farm on Hope Street to the City of Providence for the purpose of a "poor farm" for the poor, aged, and mentally ill. John Holden Greene designed a three-story stone building on the 40 acres. Alterations in 1870 changed the building's style. At its peak, the asylum housed 150 people, but eventually the farm wasn't able to sustain the institution and the building suffered. Starting in the 1920s, various entities tried to find ways to break Dexter's will and close the asylum. Finally, in 1956, Brown University was able to purchase the land and the institution closed the following year. The building was demolished and Brown University's athletic complex now occupies the site.