Agnews Developmental Center
Agnews Developmental Center was a psychiatric and medical care facility, located in Santa Clara, California.
Agnews Insane Asylum | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Location | 4000 Lafayette St., Santa Clara, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°23′38″N 121°57′10″W |
| Built | 1906 |
| Architect | Stocking, Leonard, State Architect; Sellon & Hennings, McDougall, George |
| Architectural style | Mission Revival—Spanish Colonial Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 97000829 |
| Added to NRHP | August 13, 1997 |
In 1885, the center, originally known as "The Great Asylum for the Insane", was established as a facility for the care of the mentally ill. The main structure, a red brick edifice, was located on land near Agnew's Village, which later became part of Santa Clara. By the early twentieth century, Agnews boasted the largest institutional population in the South San Francisco Bay area, and was served by its own train station which stood at the west end of Palm Drive across Lafayette Street; the station building remained until vandalism and fire precipitated its demolition in the 1990s.
In 1926, the center was expanded to include a second campus about 2 miles (3 km) to the east in San Jose (37°24′32″N 121°55′53″W). Individuals with developmental disabilities were first admitted to a special rehabilitation program in 1965. Programs for the mentally ill were discontinued in 1972. From then to 2011, when the property was sold, the center was used for the care and treatment of persons with developmental disabilities.