St. Elizabeths Hospital, Atkins Hall, 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, Southeast, 518-542 Redwood Street, Southeast, Washington, District of Columbia, DC

For an overview of the Detached Group, see HABS DC-349-BX
Significance: Atkins Hall (Building 31) is significant for its association with the treatment of mental illness on the St. Elizabeths campus. Atkins Hall was the first white patient ward constructed separately from the Center Building group, as part of a building program in the 1870s and 1880s to relieve overcrowding in the original buildings. Its free-standing design represented an architectural shift in the standard treatment philosophy. Starting
with Atkins Hall, new patient ward buildings were constructed as detached cottages, clustered in small groups, rather than as large ward buildings. Each building group was designed and designated for a specialized patient type. The architecture of the cottages allowed for the separation of patients and maintained the peaceful family atmosphere of the ward units but without the constraints or limitations of a single large building.
Atkins Hall formed an integral part of the function and use of St. Elizabeths for the treatment of mental illness and related disabilities. Atkins Hall is also significant for its architectural design, with its open ward plan, use of red brick masonry with painted accents, divided-light windows, slate-covered hip roof, and wood-framed open porch. The design of Atkins Hall established the pattern
for other detached ward buildings constructed on campus in the 1870s and 1880s.
Survey number: HABS DC-349-T
Building/structure dates: 1878 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 79003101