Historic Marker, Dorothea Dix Hill
Save the McBride Building and the Patients' Cemetery on the grounds of the former Dorothea Dix Hospital
The building and grounds of the former Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh--including the cemetery where over 900 former patients lie buried--are coveted by the City of Raleigh's leaders.
A plan agreed to this week in Raleigh allowing the sale of the land to the City was signed by Governor Pat McCrory. If approved by the North Carolina Council of State, the state would sell the Dix Property for development of a city park.
Monument with Historic Marker, Dix Hospital
I am using this post to ask for your help in preserving Dorothea Dix's true legacy, as nearly all of the the local news media are acting as boosters for the creation of a park "to rival NY City's Central Park."
I have written several times about my concerns about the destruction of the hospital on BlueNC.com blog. It is hard to get any support for my position in the local area, as folks either consider the creation of a park and the destruction of the campus as a "done deal" or they see the park being "pro-conservation."
I oppose the current plans due to lack of transparency in the political process and the need for historic preservation of part of the current parcel of land.
From the Raleigh News and Observer story:
The final deal requires Raleigh to assume “all environmental conditions” – but only after the state cleans up the site to “standards acceptable for recreational use.”
The city has no firm estimate yet of cleanup costs, according to McCormick, the city attorney. However, the bill may be fairly substantial.
First, the city and state will split the costs of remediation at the former site of a coal plant, with the state paying as much as $600,000.
Raleigh also will have to deal with asbestos-laced buildings that it likely will demolish, McCormick said. Demolition could cost about $10 million, he said.
The purchase also could carry a cost for Raleigh taxpayers. Any bond referendum would have to take place this year, according to the agreement.
A group of wealthy businessmen who call themselves the
Dix Visionaries has been lobbying the politicians and the media to allow the complete destruction of the Dix Hospital Campus, as it now exists. Their plan is to destroy all the buildings, including the historic McBride Building, despite problems with the environmental impact of such action. This would result in the loss of some still useful buildings and the outrage of plowing up a patients’ cemetery.
(Dix Campus images from the Asylum Project)
My fellow advocates and I do not ask the Governor and the members of the Council of State to preclude any type of Raleigh City Park on a large part of the old hosptial's campus.
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We suggest instead that the Council of State (which must approve any sale or transfer of the land) consider alternative plans that would preserve the historic McBride Building for a use that would continue the Dix legacy of helping individuals with a mental illness in our state.
The Council of State is a group of state-wide elected executive offices in North Carolina. It is separate from the North Carolina Cabinet, which is appointed by the Governor, and makes up the rest of the executive leadership of the government.
The Council includes Democrats State Treasurer Janet Cowell, Attorney General Roy Cooper, and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall. Gov. McCrory and Lt. Governor Dan Forest are also members of the Council.
A list of the members of the Council with their contact info is available online. I urge all of them to preserve the tremendous heritage all citizens of North Carolina share in the wonderful Dix legacy of advocacy for the mentally ill by Dorothea Dix.
Fri Jan 23, 2015 at 9:26 AM PT: Last big push for signatures on our Petition to honor Dorothea Dix Legacy
— I wanted all of the petition's supporters to know I plan to send a copy of the petition and a file with all signatures to Rep. David Price- (D-NC4) and to Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC2) this weekend.
To help us make the most impact with the petition, I ask you to think of anyone to whom you have not yet shared the link to the petition. Share the petition as widely as possible with mental health advocates and with advocates for historic preservation.
Thank you.