Patient Life Tour

Length: 2 hours
Untouched Buildings Accessed: 2

What was it like to live at the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane (now known as the Richardson Olmsted Campus)? Go behind-the-scenes and back in time to when the Richardson was home to thousands of people: patients, doctors, nurses, attendants, and staff.

The former state hospital facility consists of purpose-built structures and a healing landscape that created a therapeutic environment then considered the most progressive treatment available for mental illness.

This two-hour tour, led by a knowledgeable docent, provides access to multiple untouched spaces on-site, including some not available on other tours, and explores the lives of the men and women who lived and worked at the Richardson from its earliest days until the last patient moved out in the 1970s.

Pre-registration required.   

Please Note: This is a historic tour of abandoned buildings yet to be redeveloped by the Richardson.

What to Expect:

• Ages 16 and up.
• For your safety, sturdy, closed-toe shoes are required. We reserve the right to turn away anyone without appropriate shoes.
• Photography is not allowed inside the historic buildings on this tour. For those interested in taking photographs, please check out our photography tours.
• Hard hats will be provided.
• This tour requires the ability to walk for the full duration of the tour as well as climb multiple flights of stairs.
• Prepare to get a little dusty during your time on-site. We recommend wearing a mask in interior spaces.
• You are strongly encouraged to bring bottled water as it can get warm inside the building in the summer.
• Please bring flashlights if possible!
• Tours are rain or shine.