3,698 Comments Posted by Motts

Sadly, the Kirkbride complex at Taunton was razed in 2009, so there's nothing left to see. I believe most of the remaining buildings are still being used for mental health and addiction treatment.

The abandoned buildings have always been illegal to enter, which is why a massive anti-climb fence was placed around the complex. I think the fence is still standing, protecting an empty field these days...

Thanks Pablo, it's all natural lighting. I usually don't use any artificial lights unless it's simply too dark to photograph.

Yeah that was a creepy old tunnel. I'm pretty sure the last few photos in this gallery are from the main building; I recall it being pretty empty and much less interesting than Jensen Hall, so I didn't take many.

Twenty-three years or so of neglect, combined with New England winters can really tear through a structure.

The Children's unit, which is on the south side of the campus.

It's a good thought; I'm pretty sure this room dead-ended at the end of a wing, and the materials don't look like 1890s construction. Looking at the floor plan vs. the aerial photo, you can see two wings have been added to the building. The small projection on the top left may have been this room:
http://opacity.us/imag...eeks-hall-aerial.jpg

My guess is 1930s by the looks of that door. The concrete forms do remind me of the hydrotherapy unit at Manteno State Hospital, which was constructed in that era. http://opacity.us/image6093_the_gold_room.htm so perhaps you're right! It's possible plumbing exists under the fallen plaster and debris.

Perhaps it's just a lot softer than anything that was available at the time; that kind of fur is very thick and soft, great for anything that could be constantly rubbing and chafing the skin.

Nope, looks like a fluorescent light fixture falling off the ceiling there. I believe this room was #7 on the floor plan. http://opacity.us/site...loor-plan-weeks-hall

Ah yes, there is a hole in the floor for the drain. Perhaps the supply lines are hidden from view, or just too covered with fallen plaster to be seen.

An excellent guess!

I was last in Belchertown in 2008, checked out the theater again and that little administration building. It's been closed a long time, glad you guys are OK! I'll never forget that sound.

Yeah those close calls will reign your confidence in quickly, and you never know when something may give. I remember when that environmental inspector fell through a stairwell and died two days after I visited, at Byberry of all places; and that so much of that place was built like a tank.

They appear to be painted.

The one on the left looks to be a speaker of some kind.

After the fire, Tom Ford, the hospital's plant facilities engineer was quoted saying the fireplaces were in terra cottta: http://articles.couran...-crews-blaze-patient

Unfortunately the view had become less scenic in recent years; it overlooked a basketball and tennis courts.