The estate provided an attractive, picturesque setting, as it was situated on Centre Street, in the neighborhood of Bussey Park and the Arnold Arboretum.

Having previously been owned by J. Gardiner Weld, it was purchased by Seth Adams with his fortune acquired from his sugar refinery in South Boston.

On his death, his estate bequeathed $600,000 for the establishment of a curative institution for the benefit of indigent, debilitated and nervous people: inhabitants of the State who were not insane.

Kirkbride was a contemporary Philadelphian psychiatrist who developed the system of moral treatment for patients with nervous disorders.

The strain of this upon a naturally weak, nervous system is severe, and in such cases, a partial recovery is the most that can be expected from a 'few months' stay at the asylum.

They do not realize the amount of strength they have gained until after returning to their accustomed labors, and many continue to improve, and subsequently regain full health."

The unknown architect delivered a facile version of the French Mansard style villa and the interior ornament was also elaborate, academic, and architectonically placed to articulate openings, corners, and other shifts of plane.