Hmm...brittykitty..um...Dixmont has been torn down. It is gone. It IS NOT being fixed up. They are currently building a new Wal-Mart there. I think you are mixed up, hun. :)
Mr. Johnny Mac, PLEASE come to the forum section of the site!! I really enjoy your insightful comments. I look forward to reading them, and I want to know more and more.
Did you know that streets also used to be made from wooden blocks? There are only a handful left in the whole world. We have one small street here in Pittsburgh still in use made out of wood blocks. I have to go and see it sometime. It is over on the East end of the city somewhere, I forget where. There was a whole article on it in the paper a few years back.
My sister looked at these with me on here last night and was in awe of how identical these are to the army trucks' engines she works with in the national guard.
I think it is going to stay. It is hard to explain this, but that particular building is not right where the Kirk and the others were. It is at the end of the road before the hosp entrance was. Hmm.. how can I explain it? Like, picture a cul-de-sac before a driveway, and the position of the Cammarata Bldg. is at the end of the road, off to the right but BEFORE the driveway which leads to the construction site. So, technically, it is not even being involved in the whole thing. I guess it COULD change, but the last time I drove up there, that is how it was. There are residential houses on that road leading up to the driveway as well, so you can imagine how pissed these people are about how close the wal-mart will be. I know a family who live a few blocks away from the site.
Thank you so much for your comments, Bob. I love hearing stories like these from those who were somehow involved or connected to the hospital history. I think I have seen your comments before on another Dixmont site somewhere. Keep em' coming.
By the way...the only building still in current usage which was a part of the Dixmont property is the Cammarata Building http://www.dixmontstat....com/Cammaratta.html which now houses a Glen Montessouri School and ironically, the Verland Institute which provides services for the mentally retarded. This building is on the very edge of the property, right next to the site of the old gatehouse which burned down recently. It is just a boring old 50's style plain brick structure.
Reminds me of the time when I worked at the nursing home and I was on the elevator. It stopped on floor 2, and on comes the funeral dude pushing a dead patient on a gurney for removal. He gave me a creepy but friendly smile and hello. We then rode the elevator altogether, the dead person, the guy and me. *cringes*
I have a question- are the ceiling beams usually thick wood or iron eye beams in those old buildings? Also, are the floors in the hallways hardwood under the tiles, or subflooring? I would assume hardwood since in the old days they did not half-ass things like now. :)