Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane
Built 1870 by Henry Hobson Richardson. Added to the National Register in 1986, and a National Historic Landmark.

The record
| Property type | Building |
| Address | 400 Forest Ave., Buffalo, NY |
| County | Erie County |
| Listed | Jun 24, 1986 |
| Listed for | Architecture |
| Level of significance | National |
| Also known as | State Lunatic Asylum; Buffalo Psychiatric Center |
| Reference number | 86003557 |
| Built | 1870 · more from the 1870s |
| Architect | Henry Hobson Richardson |
| Style | Richardsonian Romanesque |
| Designations | National Historic Landmark |
The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗
Visiting
| Address | 400 Forest Ave., Buffalo, NY |
| Coordinates | 42.9294° N, 78.8821° W · Directions ↗ |
| Also in Buffalo | 211 listed places in Buffalo → |
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Map
Nearby in Erie County
Local history books for Buffalo and Erie County
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Buffalo, Good Neighbors, Great Architecture (Making of America: New York)Nancy Blumenstalk Mingus, 2003Find at Bookshop.org
Guidebooks to historic places in New York
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
When was Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane listed on the National Register?
Jun 24, 1986. It is also a National Historic Landmark, the higher of the two designations.
Source: National Park Service
When was Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane built?
1870, designed by Henry Hobson Richardson, in the Richardsonian Romanesque style.
Source: Wikidata
Where is Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane?
400 Forest Ave., Buffalo, Erie County, New York.
Source: National Park Service
Where is the nomination form for Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane?
The National Archives holds the nomination form, the document that made the case for listing.
Source: National Archives
Sources
Name, location, type and dates come from the National Register office's spreadsheet of listed properties, because the Park Service's spatial data does not carry this listing. The map point comes from Wikidata. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 86003557. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The nomination form and photographs ↗ at NPGallery are the original nomination as filed with the National Park Service, and the form is often the best description of the place.