This arrangement of longitudinal and transverse wards either side of a central division is known as the 'Kirkbride plan', from Thomas S. Kirkbride, superintendent of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia.

The centre building serves to divide the sexes. The longitudinal divisions are the wards proper, consisting of a central corridor with rooms on each side, each room occupied by a single patient, and belonging to him exclusively. These rooms vary in size from nine by twelve feet, to eleven feet eight inches by twelve feet eight inches, the larger size predominating, and the clear space between floor and ceiling is in every case thirteen feet.

The corridors are used as day-rooms, while the large bay-window in the centre of each main corridor affords the oppurtunity for the inmates in common to enjoy the sunshine and to look without. The large rooms in the front of the transverse division can either be used as day-rooms or parlors, or as associated dormitories for a special class of patients.

In the four main transverse divisions are grouped the dining-rooms, bath-rooms, clothes-rooms, lavatories, water-closets, and shafts, and it will be seen that each ward has a group of these auxiliary rooms readily accessible. The long, narrow wards render it possible to admit light and sunshine into each patient's room, while the transverse divisions perfect the classification by dividing the wards, and serve to break the view, so that patients in the different wards cannot shout across and annoy each other.

Each story of the centre building and wings is a counterpart of the one shown. A basement, nine feet clear space, is excavated beneath the entire main building. The divisions in the basement corresponding to the corridors and passages in the first story are made tight, and afford continuous air-passages for the supply and distribution of fresh air. From these basement corridors a great number of flues start, and lead within the walls to the corridors of each story. Constant and regulated ventilation is secured by means of a large fan, situated in the shop building, and driven by steam-power. The air from the fan-room is forced by the fan through large underground air-ducts or tunnels, six feet by eight feet, into the basement, and thence a constant stream passes up each flue, and is distributed to every portion of the building.

In addition to these supply-flues, each single room has a separate and distinct ventilating flue of it's own for the exit of vitiated air, leading within the brick walls directly to the attic, and the larger rooms have two or more such flues. The air forced into the corridors finds no egress except up these flues to the attics, and out through the large ventilators placed on the roof.

Steam will be used for heating, --mainly, indirect radiation. Beneath the chapel is a large pipe-duct, designed to conduct steam- and water-pipes from the boilers and pumps at the shops forward to the main building. These steam-pipes on reaching the centre building branch right and left, and extend within the air-passages through the basement to the extreme divisions. In the basement, at the base of the supply-flues, radiators or coils of pipe are placed, each connected with the steam-main. The air in it's passage to the flue is forced to contact with the hot surface of the iron, and is warmed. In addition to this indirect radiation, a system of summer pipes, to be used in chilly or damp weather, when the main apparatus is not in operation, will extend through the building, connected with direct radiators at various points. Within the pipe-shafts, accessible at all times, will be the pipes for distributing hot and cold water, and the waste- and soil-pipes leading from the bath-rooms, lavatories, and water-closets to the sewers.

The sweepings on the various wards will be passed through an opening in the base-board into a dust-shaft, and will fall directly to the basement. Soiled clothes will be similarly dropped to the basement through shafts provided for the purpose, whence they will be taken to the laundry. There are also drying-shafts for drying dish-clothes and towels, and for thoroughly ventilating the sinks connected with each dining-room. Other shafts are divided at each story by means of lattice or open floor. Inside of some are placed boots and shoes, or brooms; in others pails, mops, etc. A current of air driven up through these shafts removes at once all obnoxious scents from the building.

A car track, for the distribution of food, leads from the general kitchen both North and South through the basement. Connecting with each dining-room on each floor is a dumb-waiter, which raises the food from the car in the basement to the dining-rooms where needed. Thus, one kitchen will supply sixteen dining-rooms within the wards, besides preparing food for the domestics and shop help.

A four inch brick arch forms the ceiling of each inmate's room, and of the corridors. This arched ceiling receives the plastering, and serves both as a deafening and as a protection in case of fire. The floor-joists are above the arches, but not in contact. In rooms too large to be arched, and in the centre building, the same end is attained by laying two sets of joist, but disconnected, the upper set carrying the floor, the lower set the ceiling and the mortar deafening.

Iron sash will be used throughout the wards, but they are made the same in form as wood sash, and are painted white to make the resemblance more perfect.

Exterior walls rest on concrete two feet deep, and from three feet two inches to four feet six inches wide; the interior walls rest on one foot two inches of concrete. With few exceptions all walls are carried up to the roof, which they support. The frame-work for the roof can therefore be made comparatively light. The roof covering is slate, except the tin deck-roof of the centre building.

In stone ornamentation the main building is rich, and the great variety in the forms of the stone-work is a noticeable feature. Cornices of wood; ventilators of galvanized iron. A central tower, a tower at each end, peaks ascending from bay projections in front, and from ventilators on the roof, break the monotonous lines necessary in so extensive a building, and give a pleasing effect.

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