Comments

Hydrotherapy comes in two types: hot and cold, with the idea being that you'd use the hot water to calm down agitated patients and the cold to stimulate and hopefully "wake up" catatonic patients.

The former had a little bit of success, but immediately went out of favor once Thorazine hit the US market in 1954: it works MUCH better at calming down an agitated schizophrenic person. The latter never worked, but they kept trying.

I truly have no idea why they'd give a patient BOTH kinds. That sounds like the pre-1950s era "better to try something useless than lock them in their rooms all day" type of thinking that predominated back then.

I worked there for two years in the late 1950s. The patients seemed bored most of the time. I always treated them with respect as I would treat a relative. Good thing, as I have no bad memories of my time there.

Pisces?

Lady "J"-Rochester is in western NY, not Long Island...wrong album comment, maybe?

Motts-how come you don't try to photograph the inside of the homes, here and at Pilgrim State among others. We love what you've shot so far, but many of us will never visit these places to see them for ourselves...we live vicariously through you and your photography. Seeing inside these homes would be just as amazing for us as it is wandering with you through the hospitals, asylums, factories, etc. Maybe you can make another visit and take incredible pics of the homes as well. I smell another freshly made album in the future...:)

Hahaha, the chalk board says "fuck all"

Who is in the doorway?

reminds me of the day's when i worked at Woolworth's in the dish room and i turned the water heat down and the machine itself was long so to catch a load coming out you had a wall separating you i climbed through and when the bastard i was working with reached for the cart of dishes i sent me and lying on three racks scared the ball's of him i think sit like that happened there i know a lot of shit went on there i got about three hundred momentums from byberry including to secret files on patients

Saw this yesterday, and I must say that the basement is entirely creepy !!!

Explored it yesterday, and the fear wasn't of spirits, or police, but of collapse ! It is still standing albeit barely. It's a beautiful place, and I left there with a feeling of sadness, knowing it's only a matter of time.

all in all

it was all just bricks in the wall...

My, it's been a few years since I've been on this site. Missed it though! Hi peoples. lol

Flora way too cool website- made me feel as if I was in there

was there last week and she looks the same but it was like she is a tired old lady- I walked the perimeter of the fence taking pics but the trees blocked a lot- wish someone could be there in the winter time to see it all I think there will no people caused demo as U said the asbestos- would have the Bennett Commons residents up in arms as it is a few feet from the building- the builder of them surely knew there would be no demo however a natural collapse would endanger the residents-would not want to be there ask PWR about that-it should get him on a good rant-how many years left - dunno

That fence is gone now. The South Lawn is now open to the public. Tours were given inside the Administration Building and Wards 10 and 9 this summer. There are plans to open a boutique hotel and architecture museum in the Admin Bldg and Ward 10. Construction has already started.