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Historic district, Pontiac, since 1878

Eastern Michigan Asylum Historic District

Photographed standing in 1912

Asylum, Pontiac MI, 1912 Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Opened
1878
Style
Late Victorian
Standing
148 years

Designed by Elijah E. Myers and Smith, Hinchman & Grylls

Eastern Michigan Asylum Historic District has stood on Elizabeth Lake Rd. in Pontiac since 1878, 148 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

More photos of Eastern Michigan Asylum Historic District

Eastern Michigan Asylum, c. 1876, 1877 Photo: Samuel W. Durant, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

What is there now

Standing

We checked building permits, sales, listings and the city's blight and demolition files on October 24, 2026. Nothing new at this address in the last two years.

The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated

In 1878, as railroads, lumber and farm money built the region's main streets, Eastern Michigan Asylum Historic District opened in Pontiac.

Elijah E. Myers and Smith, Hinchman & Grylls drew the plans, in the Late Victorian style.

The National Register of Historic Places listed it in 1981.

Go see it at 140 Elizabeth Lake Rd. Photos never get the scale right.

The Clinton Valley Center (CVC), originally called the Eastern Michigan Asylum for the Insane, was a psychiatric hospital located at 140 Elizabeth Lake Road in Pontiac, Michigan. The facility was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, with a decrease in its boundaries in 1986. The facility was closed in 1997 and demolished in 2000.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1878 Built Designed by Elijah E. Myers and Smith, Hinchman & Grylls
  2. 1981 Listed on the National Register March 20, 1981
  3. 2026 Today 148 years and still standing

Where it is

140 Elizabeth Lake Rd., Pontiac

On this map

  1. Eastern Michigan Asylum Historic District This place
  2. Eastern Michigan Asylum Historic District (Boundary Decrease) 0.1 mi
  3. Wisner House 0.7 mi
  4. Elmer R. Webster School 0.7 mi

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Who made it

Elijah E. Myers
Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Elijah E. Myers

American architect, 1832 to 1909. Designed the Helen Newberry Nurses Home and 3 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Elijah E. Myers

Smith, Hinchman & Grylls
Photo: Traveler100, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Smith, Hinchman & Grylls

American architectural and engineering company, founded 1853. Designed the Penobscot Building (1928) and 68 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Smith, Hinchman & Grylls

Around the block

Photo credits

Every photo on this page is used under its license, named here with its author and a link to the original.

  1. Asylum, Pontiac MI, 1912 Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  2. Eastern Michigan Asylum, c. 1876, 1877 Photo: Samuel W. Durant, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

Facts only, gathered from these sources. The story above is written by Rebuild Detroit. Every photo names its author and license where it appears.