In 2007 the male wings of the hospital were severely destroyed by a fire caused by a lightning strike.
Hudson River State Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York was designed by Frederick Clarke Withers and was the first institutional building designed in the High Victorian Gothic style. Though designing began in the 1860's, construction was behind schedule and over budget. The facility opened in 1871, however construction continued throughout the last three decades of the 19th century. The administration building and wings followed the Kirkbride plan and was 1,500 feet long in total.