3,698 Comments Posted by Motts

It is all natural light coming from hallway windows on either side of the stage.

Perhaps it was the Perkins School in Lancaster? It is still in operation today.
http://www.perkinsprograms.org/

There was also a state industrial school in Lancaster, but I believe it was for women only.
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/pwwmh/ma43.htm

A good bit of sneaking around; sometimes you can just walk into these places, other times you have to climb fences and walls, evade security or police, and get creative finding ways in.

I only worry about asbestos exposure in confined spaces with friable material (usually tunnels), and use a mask with a P-100 rated particulate filter.

I think the secure facility was constructed circa 1920; nevertheless I'd venture to say these were installed some decades after.

Yes but cell phones usually don't work in these kinds of places, so another person or two is always better.

Almost all the bricks at Lorton were produced on-site by inmates; not sure if they took part in laying them.

If I were to take a guess at what "Industry" means, I might go with a grouping of privileged inmates. Perhaps the dorm was for those who were allowed to work in industry at the facility (power plant, etc), as opposed to agriculture, which was a large part of inmate work at Lorton. I could be totally wrong too :-)

It's the corner of the bed "frame," which is really just a metal box welded to the wall. It does look like the floor though...

http://goo.gl/maps/IKoJ

No, this section of floor had been gone for some time.

Like supernatural stuff? Not yet, but I'd definitely post something like that...

Hey Vince, I'm not sure there's a clear cut answer... some hospitals push stuff into storage then leave it all when they finally shut down or relocate. Some facilities will auction off the leftover equipment, but not everything gets sold and so it sits in the building.

Some equipment might contain dangerous materials and could be more costly to remove than to just leave behind - for example, these x-ray machines might be painful to properly dispose of due to radioactive contaminants inside. Other nasty contaminants that can be found in old equipment are lead and asbestos.

It might all boil down to a poor overseeing of the hospital's closure, illegal cost cutting by leaving it behind, or just being wasteful.

It's an observation window, and is part of the door (not a wall). I assume the deadbolt kept the resident from wandering...

Ah yes, there was an error - Henryton wasn't involved with the Dept. of Mental Health until 1963. I've corrected the history page, thanks!

The name "Verden" is a pseudonym.

I don't think quite yet, but demolition seems imminent.