The buildings of a Kirkbride facility always followed the same layout. In the middle stood the tallest building, which housed the central administration. Radiating out east and west were two 150-foot wings that receded into ventilation towers. Another set of wings extended from the towers, and the pattern was repeated once again, creating a total of six individual wings, each receding back so that every ward had access to fresh air on all sides but could not be seen by other wards, thus creating a sense of both openness and privacy. This "linear plan" created an elliptical footprint, curving back from the central spire, and facilitated the grouping of residents according to sex and symptoms of illness. Male patients were housed in the set of wings on one side of the administrative tower and female patients in the other. Each wing was then subdivided by ward; the more "excited" patients lived on the lower floors, farthest from the central administrative structure, while the more rational patients were placed in the upper floors and closer to the administrative center. Kirkbride¹s intention was create a sense of healthy order and to assist the asylum employees in managing their patients. As the twentieth century unfolded, Kirkbride¹s therapeutic method of "Moral Treatment" became obsolete and was replaced by new theories and methodologies that were not amenable to the massive architecture of the Kirkbride Plan. Many of the monumental Kirkbride sites now are abandoned and falling into disrepair. Yet, what has been termed their "mysterious grandeur" and "peculiar beauty" still captivate all who come into contact with them.