Richardson Olmsted Complex

Excellent place to take a tour (if you can nab one because they get booked really fast!) if you’re a Buffalo history buff or simply love exploring historical spaces. I learned a lot on this tour about the vast plans they have for this space. They are currently working to turn this old mental hospital into a conference center, hotel space, and several classy restaurants all in one. Wow! Now I won’t lie as of July 2105 it appears they still have a lot of work to do before they reach completion but they’re definitely getting there. I must admit that my main motivation for coming here was the history part of it. I was very excited to see the interior of what remains of more than a century old mental hospital. It was definitely interesting to hear what life was like for the patients and staff back when this place was a functional mental health facility and being in the actual spot made it easy to identify with what you were hearing. It was also extremely interesting to hear the plans for the future, see blueprints, and see the progress. The tour is great for mixing the historical information of this astounding and iconic Buffalo property with the information regarding present and future plans for its use.

I’m actually not in the building this time but right outside there’s a park and it’s awesome. I bike to work on nice days and bike home. Today I decided to stop at the building and check it out from the outside and then decided to enjoy the park bench and lie down for a minute or ten. It’s so relaxing and peaceful. I almost fell asleep. It’s full of rock filled paths, flowers and beautiful trees. If you decide to walk your dog the park is dog friendly and they provide bags for waste and there’s trash cans all along the paths. It’s quite convenient.

Came here with Tour of this place with the Buffalo Under Meetup group. The place is beautiful inside. The basement is kindly spooky. Its dark and cool thst we got to used flashlight. They doing a lots work on it. Part of it going into big hotel with 80’s rooms. Cant wait when its done to go see it. This place once a mental hospital up to 1979. Was built in the late 1800’s. Show you there alots history in Buffalo. When you take this tour you wear hard hat. Its worst it if love old building.

I only recently became aware of the Richardson Complex, and it wasn’t even through some local talking about it one day. The indie horror game ‘Outlast’ actually used this building as a model for the ‘Mount Massive Asylum’ featured in the game. If you google Mount Massive, you’ll find that the resemblance is so uncanny.
This building is incredibly cool. I’ve never had the opportunity to go inside, but the tours they hold are usually sold out months in advance. That doesn’t mean I can’t drive up to the complex and take a couple pictures once in a while, though. Right now they’re in the process of restoring the building, and I believe they intend on turning it into a hotel. I know I’ll be itching to stay there one day. With most former Psychiatric Wards, this place is also believed to be haunted, so I’m really itching to see some ghosts already!
Maybe it’s the lighting, maybe it’s the fact that some spirits still linger at the building, but this place is so creepy to see at dusk/​night. I really appreciate that. Stay creepy, Richardson Olmsted Complex.

Richard Gere has a son. His son was in intensive care… he was almost dead. The story was complex. So they named this place after the shorthand version of incident. «Richard-​son, alms-​ded, complex.» So now you know.
I’ve toured around the grounds a few times, often just walking with friends, and once with a relative of a patient. I love this place a little bit too much.
I wrote a review awhile back of the psychiatric hospital part of this complex, and I must have been living under a rock because I hadn’t heard the news, that as Alex said, it’s being re-​purposed into a hotel, conference center, architecture center and event space. It is super cool. Very happy to hear that. So I will update this review when I get the chance to tour the facility during construction, and then again when it opens up in 2016, since it’s one of my fave things in Buffalo. It’s just so haunting and imposing and beautiful. But then I love Gothic things.
In the meantime, you can re-​read my Buffalo Psychiatric Center review from before, and hopefully you’ll find it as entertaining as I do. Yes, it’s true. I please myself. Cyndi Lauper style. DiVinyls style. Britney Spears style. «The Touch Of My Hand» I think is Britney’s one, in case you’re wondering.
********************
The Buffalo Psy Center is where top specialists study the song «Gangnam Style» and its cultural implications and the reasons behind its success.
This place is not that.
I’ve never been in the actual hospital part, and I don’t think I ever want to. I imagine people screaming and lots of drugs and electric shock therapy (OK I know that doesn’t happen, but leave me and my imagination to our delusions, ok?), so why on earth would I give such a horrific place a 5?
But I’ve seen the grounds from the inside and the outside on multiple occasions.
It’s the most beautiful building in Buffalo. It’s even more amazing than the Grand Central Terminal, or City Hall, or the Walmart Supercenter on Transit Road. Well, maybe not that last one, but it’s definitely at least in the same league as Walmart.
It’s stunning, and creepy, and spectacular, especially at night when it is all lit up. I drove on to the grounds the other night at 3am or 5am or 1am or something, and there were police cars all over the place. I thought I was going to be pulled over and then escorted into the building. I’ve been wondering how long it would take for Buffalo to realize I was clinically insane. But no, not yet. I got away with it.
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
MWAHAHAHAHAHA
MWAHAHAHA
MWAH
HAH
HEE
HO HO HO
So anyway. I would recommend this as a stop (at night) to every single person visiting Buffalo. It is that scary. It is that striking. It is that creepy.
Just don’t drive through here blasting Gangnam Style. Otherwise you’ll end up on the inside looking out.
And you don’t want them to go all lobotomy on your ass, do you.
Although technically those aren’t done on your posterior.
Although if they were, it would probably by now be a niche of adult movies.
Come to think of it, it probably is.
(Goes off to search).

That old psychiatric hospital on Forest Ave? You know, the Harry Potter looking esque building? If you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard the news, it’s being re-​purposed into a hotel, conference center, architecture center and event space. It is super cool.
They offer very limited tours during the summer which sell out quick to see the progress that is being made. I took a tour of the Richardson Olmsted Complex last year and loved seeing the progress, walking around to the old psychiatric hospital and getting a bit of a crash course on history.
I’m super excited for the building to open its doors in 2016 and I would encourage every proud Buffalonian to take a tour of the building as it’s being constructed while it’s still accessible. Can’t wait to see what becomes of the Richardson Olmsted Complex!

The Richardson Olmsted complex is the result of decades of tireless work by Buffalo preservationists to ensure that this monumental structure and grounds were saved and repurposed.
From their web site:
«The Richardson Olmsted Complex, the former Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane, was a partnership between noted American architect H.H. Richardson and best known American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The complex of buildings and grounds, with its signature Gothic towers, is a National Historic Landmark.»
That designation is more well-​deserved than ever, with the most recent project that resorted Olmsted’s original design to the grounds. Instead of a parking lot, a tranquil park one fronts the Forest Avenue side of the extensive property.
Likewise, the main buildings have been stabilized and are undergoing restoration that will transform them into a boutique hotel, conference space, and architectural museum.
This massive structure, with copper-​roofed towers visible for miles, is an iconic part of Buffalo’s rich architectural landscape and the signature building of one of America’s most revered architects. For years, I’ve encountered European tourists in the parking lot, come to admire Richardson’s master work. It’s great to see Buffalo taking notice of this gem as well.
The foundation in charge of the restoration has big plans that will be implemented over the next few years and it will be great to see this amazing site come back to life as a vibrant part of our city!