Camarillo State Mental Hospital, also known as Camarillo State Hospital, was a public psychiatric hospital for both patients with developmental disabilities and mental illness in Camarillo, California. The hospital was in operation from 1936 to 1997.
The former hospital campus has been redeveloped and opened in 2002 as the California State University Channel Islands. The university has retained the distinctive Mission Revival Style architecture, and the bell tower in the South quad has been adopted as the symbol of the university.
Architectural plans for the new hospital were rushed to state architect, George McDougall, to begin the process to accommodate the initial 3000 patients for the first unit. The hospital was expected to cover 200 acres with supply wards, homes for the superintendent and officials, dormitories for employees and patients, commissaries, and storerooms. It was anticipated that the completed hospital would house 7000 patients and over 700 staff.
The first artist rendition of the hospital appeared in The Camarillo News on November 25, 1932. Fifty male patients arrived in Camarillo in March 1933, and were initially housed in the farm home on the Lewis Ranch. That number grew to over 100, in June 1934. A call for construction bids came from the State in May 1933 and during that same month, Camarillo State Hospital or "CAM" as it was named affectionately by its employees, received its official name. Camarillo State Hospital officially joined six other state institutions, with 16,000 patients between them, under the direction of Dr. J.M. Toner.
Units 1 and 5 of the initial section of the hospital were scheduled for the first construction. The WPA project began. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on August 15, 1933, with Josephine Lewis, Mr. and Mrs. Adolfo Camarillo, Governor Rolph, and Dr. Toner in attendance. The new hospital project was a direct result of an agreement between the Public Works Administration and the State of California. The total amount of the construction cost was approximately $10,000,000 and at completion, was the largest mental hospital in the world.
Credit: Wikipedia
