96 Comments Posted by devin

I think that this was, at one time, a regular wheel-chair that has been modified to serve another purpose. The reason that I think this is because the wheels appear to be those of a standard wheel-chair. The metal pieces that are attached to the sides of the wood structure above the frame are newer and shinier looking than the frame. The vertical sides look to be standard building-grade 2X4s with 1/2" ply attached to the sides (you can see the exposed edge of the ply.) The top is from something else. An old laminate table (?) top that has been cut with rounded corners and you can see the de-lamination happening from years of exposure to moisture. This is a cobbled-together make-shift contraption to serve a specific purpose for this institution.

I remember 124, we used to call him "Wunt" for short.

That would have made a great movie poster for The Changeling!

1945 -- this would have been one of the earliest drive-ins. The first one was in the late 30s but then WWII almost stopped new development for civilian industry. This would have been a very old drive-in.

No reference to the Stephen King story -- The Mangler?

Joe, I also restore furniture and antiques in general. I would say that there is not enough of this piece left. I don't do upholstery -- just never been my thing. As for the wood, the whole skeleton would need to be rebuilt because it is partially burned. The walnut frame is also partly burned as well. The sagging and breaks is indicative of dry-rot. I would just salvage the appliques and whatever good walnut is left to use elsewhere.

I'm with Althea and others on this. I do not believe that this creative endeavor was performed by a patient but an explorer as a joke.

It's always good to lend a hand but don't lose your head over it.

If no one was there to hear it, did it make a sound?

It looks like a cat door, but that seems very unlikely.

Imagining all of the chandeliers, walls, floors being new with nice furniture, I think this would be a very pleasant place to have a meal -- until it got overcrowded.

In the first shot inside the clock tower, on the right edge of the photo there are what looks like empty light sockets connected with wiring. You can see part of what I think are sockets in this shot too. There are mounted on the square structures just inside the clock faces. Two on each vertical and one on the horizontals. If there are four faces on the tower, that would make a total of 24 light bulbs to illuminate the whole thing.

Y did they make the building like that?

The milk glass that the clock face is made of looks about 1/2" thick. We can also see the light sockets that they used to light it up at night. It must have been a really nice clock when it was new.

And Marathon Man.