Old Main Public Tours in Utica, Oct. 26–30: Free, Registration Required

Old Main in Utica opens for free public tours Monday, Oct. 26 through Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, with a tour starting every 30 minutes from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free, but you must sign up ahead of time by emailing the state Office of Mental Health, WIBX reported. It's the first time the building has opened to the public since 2018.

How to register: email [email protected] with the names of everyone coming, the day and time you'd like, any school or group you're with, and any accessibility needs, including wheelchair access.

What you're seeing: the Court Street building opened in 1843 as the New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica, the state's first public institution for people with mental illness. Its first superintendent, Dr. Amariah Brigham, set up a print shop there that began the American Journal of Insanity in 1844, the journal now known as the American Journal of Psychiatry. The site was later Utica State Hospital and then Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center; part of the building now holds a state mental health records archive. Old Main has been a National Historic Landmark since 1989.

Not published: parking details and any age limits. Ask when you email.