Opened as the New York State Inebriate Asylum, the grandiose facility sitting atop Robinson Street in Binghamton served as the very first alcohol inebriate asylum in the United States. For nearly 30 years, the public has been mystified by what many locals have started to call the Castle on the Hill (
sometimes also called
Binghamton State Hospital or Binghamton Psychiatric Center), most likely because the public hasn t been allowed to so much as peek inside the heavily guarded facility, but that is all about to change.
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The New York State Inebriate Asylum was built between the years of 1858 and 1866 by architect Isaac Gale Perry who would go on to design other well-known Binghamton landmarks including the Phelps Mansion, the Sisson Building (where the present-day Townsquare Media offices are located), and the Perry Building. When it was built, the purpose of the castle-like Gothic Revival style building was to treat alcoholism