3,698 Comments Posted by Motts

Nah, no clones (yet). That's my friend Nick taking a photo from the upper level.

Ah, so that's what the mirror is for, thanks!

If the building was wide open for much longer, those pipes (and the ones upstairs) were probably scrapped in short order... but I have no idea.

The only thing I've read that was salvaged was some of the stained glass.

It looks like a radiator to me, the vent cover can be seen on the floor in the background.

The projection room held the remnants of a carbon arc unit, but not much else. http://opacity.us/image1922_projector.htm

You had a view of the Dejarnette Sanatarium ( http://opacity.us/site...nette_sanitarium.htm ), which was last used to treat adolescents with behavioral disorders, and is awaiting demolition. The state hospital is located just up the street, just before you enter downtown.

In my experience, permission is rarely given due to liability concerns, but you can certainly give it a shot.

Hi Diana, I do not have photos of the kitchens or meat preparation area at CVH; they could still be in use by the hospital (I kept to the long-abandoned areas).

I recall coming upon a very large band saw in a tiled room at another state hospital, which was labeled "Meat Saw." It was interesting to see, as many of these old hospitals raised their own livestock rather than buying cuts at the local store.

Thank you Patty - you have some great photos yourself, they have great color! I figured most of WSH had been renovated by now but it appears that is not so - I am hoping they'll still be able to save those buildings (and DeJarnette too)

No, Glenn Dale is not open to the public.

Yup, I imagine the light is behind a secure box for that reason... I suppose it could be possible for someone to sneak an object that could be thrown at it to shatter the glass.

Yup; the lower brickwork is Flemish Bond and the top, darker bricks are Flemish Garden Wall Bond, with more stretchers between the headers.

After reading up on various patterns a few years back, brick walls suddenly seemed a bit more interesting to me!

Overbrook had a recreation building and chapel (I believe they were quite modern), but the cops chased us out before we could get there.

Well, the transom windows were originally made of glass, which was obviously a safety hazard here. Before the advent of high strength plastics, the only other option was wire, which can look even more gloomy: http://opacity.us/imag..._secure_measures.htm

I have no clue why the place wasn't re-purposed - but investigating the bureaucratic decisions surrounding the property, the amount of involvement of a local historic preservation community, and the possibility of a small group of people who will make a lot of money off the demolition might be some good leads to begin to answer that question!

I'm guessing that this was originally a solarium and designed so the windows were placed in as large and tightly as possible, which leaves little room for the large radiators needed to overcome the draft.

Come to think of it, they're probably more efficient than against a wall - more air flow for convection.