The Northern Michigan Asylum for the Insane, also known as Traverse City State Hospital, was constructed in 1885. One of the kinder, gentler, mental hospitals of its day, the hospital banned restraints and offered residents a number of work therapy options, including farming (at the on-site farm), furniture construction, and fruit canning. At one point, the hospital was Traverse City's largest employer. When the complex closed in 1989 due to funding cuts, over 200 jobs were lost.

In 2000, the Minervini Group began working on a redevelopment project for the old hospital site. Dubbed the Village at Grand Traverse, the 63-acre site now features condos, studio apartments, hiking trails, and even a winery (pictured). The site, which is still under construction, is one of the largest historic preservation and adaptive reuse redevelopments in the country.

The ultra-creepy Danvers State Hospital, constructed in Danvers, Massachusetts in 1878, is the rumored birthplace of the lobotomy. The $1.5 million hospital and its famous network of underground tunnels are mainstays of popular culture--the hospital is the possible inspiration for H.P Lovecraft's Arkham Sanitarium, which was in turn the inspiration for the Arkham Asylum featured in Batman comic books. Danvers State Hospital was closed in 1992 due to budget cuts.

The 77-acre site was sold to Avalon Bay Development in 2005, and most of the buildings were torn down for redevelopment as apartment complexes by June 2006. The main Kirkbride building was demolished on the inside, with the outside shell remaining mostly faithful to the original design. In April 2007, four of the Avalon Bay apartment complexes and four construction trailers were struck down by fire, further perpetuating myths of supernatural activity on the old hospital site. The Avalon Danvers opened in 2008 as a residential community featuring apartments, a swimming pool, a fitness center, and an indoor basketball court.

Warley Hospital, located in Brentwood, Essex, England, opened in 1853. Kendall and Pope Architects designed the structure after a competition was held among ten local architects for a winning design. The Victorian High Gothic-style hospital featured red and black bricks, octagonal towers, and stone mullion windows. Its signature features, however, were its long corridors, or "galleries". The hospital closed in 2001.

City and Country Group transformed Warley Hospital into a series of one, two, and three bedroom apartments dubbed "The Galleries" that incorporate as much of the original architectural detail (floors, doors, cornices, arches) as possible. Unlike with the Avalon Danvers redevelopment, City and Country Group took great care to preserve historical features in its 57 homes. The Victorian Society, a national society dedicated to studying and protecting Victorian architecture, gave its seal of approval to the redevelopment in 2007.

Dammasch State Hospital, located in Wilsonville, Oregon, opened in 1961 as a 460-bed mental hospital, asylum, and psychiatric center. The hospital closed in 1995. In 1998, authorities tried to revive the 490 acre site as a women's prison, but locals successfully protested that it was too close to residential neighborhoods.

The Villebois "urban village", a series of 700 upscale houses and condos, features 10 acres dedicated community housing for residents with mental illness as per state mandate. The original Dammasch buildings were demolished, but Villebois has recycled over 90% of its materials from old buildings. The development also preserved existing trees and made sure to incorporate native plants into its landscaping. We're guessing that preservationists had fewer qualms about demolishing a 1960's era hospital than one that was built in the 1800's.

Opened in 1851, Colney Hatch had the longest single corridor in Britain--it took five hours to completely walk the six mile corridor in the building. The building, located in what is now the London Borough of Barnet, gained a bad reputation by the 1880s due to overcrowding and a general local fear of mental disorders. The phrase "Colney Hatch" came into common use in London as a general term for anything deemed irrational or crazy--much like the word "Bedlam" (another psychiatric hospital in London) is used today. Colney Hatch was the home to a number of well-known residents, including Jack the Ripper suspect Aaron Kominski and British serial killer John Duffy. The hospital closed in 1993.

The Colney Hatch building was recently renovated into Princess Park Manor, a series of luxury apartments that retains many of the original Victorian features of the hospital. The development also features a gym, pool, tennis courts, and 30 acres of private parkland. While the Princess Park Manor website mentions the building's "distinguished history," it neglects to say that was once a mental institution.