old main

Back by popular demand, The New York State Office of Mental Health will be offering free tours of the historic Old Main Building at the Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center in West Utica.

The legendary mental hospital in Utica known as "Old Main" will once again open it's doors for the public to view. This historic building was built in 1843 and operated as a mental facility for many years and is as eerie as it is interesting.

Looming over West Utica since 1843, the Utica State Lunatic Asylum was once on the forefront of the progressive care of the mentally ill as New York's first center for their care. Closed now for decades, the main building of the Utica Psychatric Center, known as Old Main, has captivated those who live in its shadow and hear stories of its Haunts and Legends.

Famed horror and mystery author Edgar Allen Poe was nearly committed to the Utica Psychiatric Hospital during a bout of depression in the 1840s.

The Old Main Psychiatric Center Hospital opened its doors to a public tour on Monday, August 25th at 5PM offering a crowd of more than 4 thousand an exclusive glimpse inside the historic iconic Utica landmark.