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I want to give testimony to the incredible kindness and caring of three nursing aids I knew. Nursing aids are the lowest of on the totem pole with the exception of the patients. It was a horrible and rigid hospital with ridiculous and purposeless rules. Every morning we would be roused from bed to eat breakfast. I was so, so lonely and isolated and in so much pain. Nobody liked me least of all myself. Every morning they would go out of there way to give me a special hello. It might sound stupid, but it was so meaningful. It was really embarrassing but this really silly grin would break out on my face. I couldn't help it. It was so meaningful to have such kind people greet me and care for me. They were also hilarious. They were given job duties that were ridiculousness by the head nurse. One day they were assigned posts down the hallway and in the day room and they were to make sure we didn't do anything we were supposed to do. In other words, they were made into guards. They rebelled. They pretended they had walkie talkies to communicate with each other and were make jokes and cracking everyone up. I think the head nurse eliminated those posts after a day. She couldn't enforce it. Those three nursing aids are an example of people in positions where they could dump on the only ones lower than them, and they choose the rise above it and smile. Thank you! I really mean it.

Didn't they use to pull out the teeth of little kids who would bite people with that chair? it's sad how cruel people can be when they simply don't understand something... that is what I call ignorance...

I went in there once, with a group of friends of mine. We went on a trip to Northampton on a whim in the middle of the night, with the intention of sneaking in but ended up meeting a "security guard" that gave us a tour of the whole place. We got to see the morgue, the auditorium, some of the patient rooms, the tunnels underneath the building that they would transport patients in (They felt the public shouldn't be subjected to seeing the patients walking around). Weird thing is, it looked like they left in a hurry. There were still viles in the morgue (empty of course). Crazy weird. @ Kikyo-I get the same feeling when I go by there too, so I try not to when I'm in Northampton. It's an uneasy sort of feeling that kinda draws me to it. Not a bad one, it's hard to explain, but I think I know what you mean.

I love this picture. Great shot!

Great shot. It doesn't look real.

So sad that it is gone and the new condos are crappy construction and wil probably be taken down someday as well. A lttle care and maintenance could have saved the whole thing.

Wow, again. This one , comparitively uninteresting photo drew a lot of awesome comments! Everybody must have been holding it in for awhile. This is a great and compelling website. I find it interesting more for the lost architechture than the "horror stories". I do not find the other types of buildings less scary or thought provoking. Horrible nasty things can happen anywhere. How about the industrial accitdents at some of the huge blast furnaces and breweries. Motts goes where he goes and there are a lot of old, abandoned mental hospitals because of political actions.

I used to work with a switch board like that when I was a desk clerk for the US Army in Garmisch. Coming to work in 1990 was lik egoing back in time each day I slipped behind the front desk for my shift ...looking at the pic is a trip down memory lane:) Great photos!!

HUH????

William, I like your comments about your experience. I didn't know they were still doing hydro so called therapy in 95. I know cold wet sheet packs were still very popular in the nineties at a nationally known hospital in Maryland. Now they are just doing strip searches upon admission, and seclusion and restraint as well. They are working on cutting back on S & R too, particularly with children. Well, they had to because of lawsuits.

So cool to find this blog. I spent many summers and school vacations at Sunnycroft from the mid 60's thru the early 70's. My mom ( divorced) and her friend Aina, also divorced, used to spend alot of time up there. Mike and Morty were the best. I remember so many of the names mentioned here. I remember Scotty's Bar Mitzvah ( I had an old pictured too) not sure if it survived my many moves. I remember Annette and one of her horses VO5! What a great rider, used to give me pointers all the time. I have some old pictures, I have to look for them. Really brings back alot of memories. I remember the dogs too, a great dane named Charm, a smaller one, I think Sammy and then barbara schnediers dobie, Storm! biggest baby everl. Ahh the good old days. thanks for the memories.

This tile work has been since removed from the hotel.

Very sad to know cityvest robbed any potential left in the old building. Today looks nothing like any of these pictures inside, its an empty, dark, wet shell that is going to fall down. The only marble that is left are the beautiful 2 story tall pillars and even their days are numbered. THIS IS A JOKE ALREADY WE NEED TO kick cityvest out. The people should be in charge - obviously THE PEOPLE care more about this historical place then cityvest -who only cares about the depth of their own pockets!

My Grandmother was a patient back in 1933 after she gave birth to my dad out of wedlock and the father was a married man.. Her family had put her in there after the embarassment...She passed away 15 years later and they released he body to her siblins. I dont know much of her and when they buried her, they didnt put my dad's name on the newspaper clipping. My great aunts and uncles were ashamed of her and my dad. My family came from wealth but we never seen a dime of it. Which..dont bother me one bit because I was my dads daughter...he is up in heaven now with my grandmother. (FYI...my dad was a patient there as well back in 1960s) I wish that i could find records of the patients names...

Another food fact:

I rarely eat Multi-Grain Cheerios b/c my cousins and sister kept eating it all (but that's gonna change!!)