Like in all Kirkbride buildings, patients were segregated according to sex: male patients were located on the east side wards, females on the west. The most well-behaved patients were located close to the administrative building at the centre of the complex, violent and noisy ones at the end wards. The logic behind these asylums was based on the principles of Moral Treatment (moral meaning psychological). It was believed then that mental illness could be cured by placing the patient in a peaceful, well-structured, orderly environment that the asylum provided. The architectural plans were drawn in order to support this view. At the time of their popularity the Kirkbride buildings were extremely progressive in terms of ventilation, plumbing and heating. Carefully designed asylum grounds and gardens offered the possibility for the patient to be close to nature, and to take part in agricultural work. Some asylums had golf courses, theatres and libraries for their patients. The superintendents visited every patient daily, and sometimes patients and staff dined together.
In 1948 it was estimated that one in every 263 US citizens was institutionalized. The Buffalo asylum hosted patients until 1970s, and the building was used for administrative purposes until 1994. It is now closed (like almost all Kirkbride asylums) and its future remains uncertain. Its sheer size (not to mention its gloomy history) makes one feel awfully small.