This page is an attempt to be a complete-as-possible bibliography of Traverse City State Hospital-related books and publications. Books are listed first, followed by items of a more ephemeral nature.
"Angels in the Architecture is a photographic and historical study of one of America's last architecturally significant asylums, The former Northern Michigan Asylum, also known as the Traverse City State Hospital.
Author and professional photographer, Heidi Johnson photographed and studied the site for 3 years from 1997 - 2000. Johnson's photographs of the institution today are juxtaposed with rare images from private collections and state archives. The photographs are augmented by powerful firsthand accounts of former staff members and patients that reveal both sad realities and surprising acts of kindness.
The book takes readers on a rare tour through a nineteenth century asylum. Of particular interest is the hospital's "Building 50", a four block long structure topped with twelve castle like spires that is now on the National Registry of Historic Places." (Description from Amazon.com)
Click here to order the book from Amazon.com. Also, please visit www.heidijohnson.com
Beauty is Therapy -"Memoirs of Earle Steele, a fifty year employee of the Traverse City State Hospital. Steele's first affiliation with the hospital was at age nine when his father began employment at the institution. Ten year's later, the younger Steele began his own employment with the hospital. At the time of his retirment in 1984, Steele was the Superintedent of the Grounds Department. Between 1984 and 1989 he helped continue the devolopment of the hospital musuem and served as curator until the closing of the institution in 1984. The book contains black and white photos retrieved from the local historical society as well as illustrations by Steele." (Description from Amazon.com)
Click here to order the book from Amazon.com
Click here to read Earle Steele's obituary at the Traverse City Record Eagle.
"Echoes '89; Study of the Traverse City State Hospital"
Illustrated historical study of the mental hospital by an 8th grade class.
"How Thin the Veil - A Newspaperman's Sory of His Own Mental Crack-up and Recovery" by Jack Kerkhoff.
This book is out of print and is very hard to get and expensive: used copies go for more than $150. It is a novelization of the experiences of a patient. Published by Greenberg, New York, 1952 (apparently only one edition)
"A Man Against Insanity" by Paul de Kruif. Out-of-print.
From the back cover:
"The story of a doctor who conquered his own insanity and now shows others the way back - It took Jack Ferguson until the age of forty to become a doctor. He had been a steel worker, railroad fireman, whisky salesman, and speakeasy bartender. He finally got his M.D., only to break down repeatedly, become a barbiturates addict, and finally wind up confined in a mental hospital. He found his way back to sanity, and then used his new insights to show others the way back, using the remarkable new drugs and an old-fashioned formula of tender care."
Copyright 1957. Used copies can be had for as little as $4
"Through the Years" by Ohmer J. Curtiss, 1973. Booklet covering the history of the institution, published originally by the Traverse City State Hospital Print Shop. Original copies and xerox reprints have been available in recent years.
"Traverse City State Hospital (Images of America)" by Chris Miller, 2005. "Northern Michigan Asylum, which opened in 1885, was known during most of its years as Traverse City State Hospital. It was run during its first decades by Dr. James Decker Munson, who left his legacy in the landscaped grounds and the medical center that today bears his name. Traverse City State Hospital served the mental health needs of a large part of Michigan for 104 years until its closure in 1989, housing a population as large as 3,000 in its many buildings.This book traces the history of this great institution, from the local and mental health context in which it was founded, through its growth, development, and decline, and finally to its renovation and preservation as a vital part of the Traverse City community."
Other publications, printed works
Annual Reports, published in the early years of the institution.
"The Observer", a newsletter published in later years of the institution.
"The Spire", a newsletter of the Committee to Preserve Building 50.
Various brochures, pamphlets, and booklets published in recent years in promotion of preservation or renovation plans; by the "Architects and Engineers Group" and The Minervini Group.
Other (non-printed)
Documentaries about the State Hospital barns/farm area produced for TCTV2 public access cable.
Vignettes produced to support the Committee to Preserve Building 50