127 Comments Posted by Heather

Uh, didn't you imply that they used a brush? If they didn't use their finger my guess is that it's probably just some kid on a dare. Ahh, the disgusting things people will do for a laugh. But wouldn't the common teen be more compelled to go "all out" and write the word "shit" instead? Hmmmm....

A little research on the web showed that bright colors were in fashion back when these places were built. Although not yet a proven science, bright colors were thought to cheer people up as well; hence the popularity. (Amanda: My heart goes out to you. My mother also has Seasonal Affective Disorder. She has had to put up with skepticism from family and friends as well. Doc didn't prescribe a disco ball but he did prescribe lots of sunshine.) Light, too, has always been thought to have a positive effect on patients of all sorts; most likely the reason that most of the old hospitals had solariums. My point being that just because it wasn't a proven theory yet doesn't mean that there has to be another explanation for it. *referring to the reason for the bright paint

I, too, feel sad looking at it thinking that maybe the child who wore this didn't make it out of there. Before the discovery of streptomycin they performed numerous exploratory surgeries to help the patients: Most of which didn't make it through it. The ones who did were left crippled. Look up pneumothorax. It was a procedure that involved removing ribs to relieve pressure on the lungs. I believe something like 5% of the patients even survived it.

Good one! Fresh air was believed to help TB patients. Most TB hospitals had open air solariums where patients spent most of their time. At Waverly Hills the patients slept on porches with snow on the foot of their beds!

This place is a children's TB hospital. There are other pictures of it on the web.

Definitely pitchers. Notice the large handle and spout? There are also the lids lying about. Looks like they changed them once a month probably due to low funds. Remember, they weren't as cleanly then as we are now.

Yeah, it separates. Red blood cells turn black and the plasma is gooey and yellow. That's with air contact. The substance in question is sealed, but to what degree? I believe blood is possible. They weren't as careful about disposing hazardous waste then as they are now. It's apparent by what was left inside the building to rot that it was a reckless abandonment. If it is in fact blood, why not tainted blood?

intestines

Great picture! Looks like some one got a little happy with the torch. I especially like what appears to be a hand print "clawing" at the light switch. I'm glad to see there are others who compare these scenes to Silent Hill. That's exactly what I was thinking!

This is clearly a different room than in the old photo. Look at the radiators and the space between the outer windows. By the way, Starlight, you are right about the temperature. Operating rooms are kept cool these days, but back in the day they were kept warm.

The blue windows are hanging from a support on the inside of the room. They are there to block the sunlight, kind of like shutters. You can see in the original picture what the outer windows look like. They don't have the mullions because there are two sets of windows. The support for the blue windows was probably added while this was a geriatric facility.

i whold take some books

FYI - all the buildings (on both sides of the street) have been completely demolished/gutted. They have built condominiums on the property - those are gonna be some very haunted living spaces.

I love these pics - I actually work at a haunted house and we've been looking at sites like these for ideas for rooms. Great work!

I think i see Gollum peeking out..The right hand corner down below..

Really, really, late to comment on this, but "Up the river" was a refrence to Sing Sing Prison which is right on the Hudson river and hence "up the river" from New York City.