Kirkbride specified the room sizes, the single rooms were specifically designed to be too small for two people - which is what the state in its wisdom did. Rooms were designed to be 9 x 11, or 10 x 8 with 12 foot ceilings, and 6'6" x 3' windows with 10 panes and doors 6'8" x 2'8"

The Kirkbride deisgn called for small dining rooms in each wing, and an underground 'railroad' system for moving food on carts on tracks from a central kitchen, then uploaded on dumb waiters.

The original Kirkbride idea of the wings is that the rooms wouldn't look into other rooms, and also have a maximum of fresh air.