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The Sheppard Pratt Asylum was founded in 1853 for the progressive treatment of the mentally ill by the Baltimore merchant Moses Sheppard. The New York architect Calvert Vaux was hired in 1858 to design the buildings for the institution at the same time Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted won the competition for the design of Central Park. Construction on the Asylum began in 1862, during the Civil War, and because of lack of financial constraints, the Asylum opened in 1891. The Sheppard Pratt Asylum is now on the National Historic Register. The 17 drawings for the project include floor plans, elevations, sections, and detail drawings.