Dororthea Dix Park, Part III: The park proper

In addition to the Gipson Play Plaza and scores of buildings shown in previous posts of this series, on Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, N.C., has sufficient area among its 305 acres to exhibit traditional attributes of a park, such things as scores of trees and plenty of open space and beautiful landscaping. 

The lead-off photo depicts a nice portion of what is referred to as “the big field” at Dix Park, space used for such things as concerts and festivals. One such example was the annual spring weekend Dreamville festival, which concluded its four-year run in 2025 (city and Dreamville officials have said a new four-year festival is in the works, but no details have been made public as yet). 

Or you can go to the big field just to roam, which is what I used it for when I was there Tuesday. 

The big field technically is a mix of rolling land that steadily goes up or down hill, depending on the direction you’re headed. The area in the foreground of the above picture is at the top of the hill. One goes downhill as he or she proceeds in the distance shown in the middle of the photo. 

It’s at that opposite end of the field that the park abuts the State Farmers Market property, and a stroller need only recognize the bright orange roofing as he or she draws closer and closer to the end of the field to appreciate the proximity of the market. 

I’m not sure what kind of work is being done on the right side of the photo, where the orange fence and construction implement is located, but I did read somewhere that there is a bandstand being installed in the field, and perhaps this is where that is going. 

To view a full gallery of photos from the “park proper” portion of my shoot at Dix, follow the link in this sentence.   

Above and below: The objective of this sculpture by DeWitt Godfrey, titled Attun, is to blend “natural mathematics and computational design with community context.” Godfrey used corten steel and stainless steel fasteners to create this 2023 work. Corten is a durable copper-chromium alloy designed to resist corrosion and does not require painting. The sculpture is intended to be visual-only; signage asks visitors not to climb on it.  

Above: A view of the downtown Raleigh skyline from Dix Hill, just outside the Greg Poole Jr. All Faiths Chapel.

Above: With a combination of rollers and banked turns, this pop-up pump track enables anyone to sharpen their bike, scooter or skating skills. It is open March through May each year.

Above: Sunflower Power Poles, easily visible from Lake Wheeler Road, the park’s eastern perimeter, is an art work created by Thomas Sayre and installed in partnership with the Duke Energy power utility. The sculpture transforms traditional utility poles into art, paying tribute to Dix Park's popular annual field of sunflowers, which visitors can find in the park interior from early July to early August. Raleigh-based Sayre, a sculptor and painter, has created and built public arts projects throughout the world. Another of his best-known local works is Gyre, the large three-piece ellipse on the grounds of the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Dorothea Dix Park, Part II: Park buildings

It’s difficult to present a post on all the buildings on the Dorothea Dix Park campus, because for one, there have been as many as 80 of them on the 305 acres at one time or another. 

To be fully informed enough to share the park buildings’ full history here would have required me to invest hours of reading and study, and this post probably would have needed far more words — and probably a couple of homemade maps as well — than the pictures I intended to present. 

I wasn’t prepared to do that, but I did spend at least a couple hours researching as much of the critical information I felt I needed to provide background for my pictures here.

After opening in 1856, a psychiatric treatment facility under the name North Carolina Hospital for the Mentally Ill operated at the site about a mile southwest of downtown Raleigh until 1959 (I’ll skip mention of the several politically incorrect other names the facility was called in those early years, but you can find them by following the link in the second paragraph below.  

Dorothea Dix, born in Maine and raised in New England, made a lifetime project of advocating for all people suffering from mental illness everywhere. Her campaign focusing on North Carolina brought her to the Tar Heel state in 1948 after learning that North Carolina was one of the few states without a state-run institution to treat mental illness. Construction of such a facility was authorized the following year, and the first patient was admitted in 1856.

In 1959, the hospital was renamed Dorothea Dix Hospital in her honor. It closed in 2012, after which the hospital’s services were transferred to Central Regional Hospital in Butner, N.C. The city of Raleigh purchased the property from the state for $52 million in 2015.

Since then, the city has strived to convert the property into a premier city park. At least 25 buildings have been torn down, another four are undergoing demolition right now, and supposedly 20 more structures will meet the same fate in the not too distant future. Another 20 buildings will be “upfitted” (renovated) and used for new purposes. There is a 10-year master plan for the park’s development that is in its early stages. 

The keystone structure on campus is the Central Building, known today as the McBryde Building. It is 726-feet long and has a four-story central pavilion and two three-level wings on either side of the pavilion. In the years after the hospital closed, McBryde served as headquarters for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. The DHHS has since moved to new quarters at the corner of Blue Ridge and Reedy roads across the street from the North Carolina Museum of Art.

One of the houses on the acreage had served as the hospital superintendent’s residence. It is a 100-year-old stone building, renovated in 2023 (see lead-off photo above), that today is used as the headquarters and office space for the Dix Park Conservancy. Next door to it is the house used by the former psychiatric hospital’s physician (see first photo below). Today this structure is used as a hub for community engagement, hosting the Dix Park Artists in Residence program. This 1920 building was renovated in 2024.

To view a full gallery of images from the buildings portion of my shoot at Dix Park, follow the link in this sentence.

Above and below: Central Building, or McBryde Building, was designed by renowned architect Alexander J. Davis. The structure was modeled on design principles of Dr. Thomas Kirkbride, who believed that exposure to natural light and fresh air were key components of healing mental illness. 

Above: Not far from McBryde Hall is the Greg Poole Jr. All Faiths Chapel, which is surrounded by what is referred to as a “healing garden.” The 1955 chapel was remodeled and rededicated in 2021 with the Poole name. Poole, a Raleigh businessman, was a Dix Park visionary and advocate who died in 2018. The first eight photos below were taken in the healing garden. 

The Royster Buliding (above) and Lineberger Building (below). 

The Kirby Building (above); unsure of the identify of the building below. 

Above: The Anderson Building. In the background at left is a portion of the newly constructed mixed-use development known as The Weld.

Above: I believe this is the Brown Building on the far eastern end of campus near the Gipson Play Plaza.

Above and below: Two sides of the House of Multiple Porches Market, where people can seek out refreshments (coffee, soft drinks, beer and wine) and light edible fare such as sandwiches, snacks and selections in vending machines. After choosing their fare, visitors can sit on the porch or in the open area on all sides. This structure also is near the Gipson Play Plaza.