Comments

Germs with no corners had not yet evolved.

Typicaly yes there are different facilities for each class, now. But Even though the hospital closed in 1996, the Salmon Buiding closed even before then and patients were sent to different facilities. When the Salmon Building was being used the term used most ofter was "Criminally Insane", there was no "Not Guilty be reason of mental disease or defect", "Not compntant to stand trial". If a person with any sort of mental illness commited a crime (usually a violent crime), the were deemed "Criminally Insane". And many times they were treated no better than animals, unlike the present day when they are separated into different categories and watch to make sure that they don't hurt themselves and get the help they actually need these people were placed here so that they couldn't hurt others but could not be placed in a regular prison because they were "Insane", really not long before they were placed in regular prisons and usually did not live more than a couple of years after being placed in the regular prison, suicide or murder was how many of them died, at est at the hospital they weren't going to be murdered because some inmate didn't like the fact that they acted "funny". Also on another note though many people who had mental illness were placed in prisons for no reason other than the fact that people didn't understand tham and were scared of them, before Mental Hospitals became the place to place the mentally ill.

The Salmon House was used to house people that were found to be "Criminally Insane" and had been commited there. As for the damage that they could do to themselves, many didn't care at that time as long as they were locked up society really didn't care how they were treated.

all those residents that died and their body parts ended up here and we are sitting here saying: oh how beautiful. we are all truly messed up.

Lighting, outstanding - Color, excellent - shadows, testure, depth, got it all! This pic is perfection!

that hose or string thing coming out of the box reminds me of the big tentacle thing that grabbed the bag-boy in "the mist"..........creepy

how do i get there? love taking pictures and exploring abandoned areas..

P.S.: It's probably just graffiti, created long after this place closed, and poorly-drawn graffiti at that.

Meh, I agree with the poster who sees this little screed as mostly sarcastic and somewhat self-pitying. That's not meant as an insult to the mentally ill; I've been hospitalized myself on more than one occasion. It's hard not to feel sorry for yourself at times in places like these! :)

I'm not trying to engage in flaming here, but I have to agree (in part, at least) with sunsetblvd1. I can understand and even empathize with her irritation at those who insist on finding something sinister in every aspect of a psych hospital, but Lynne's comment just struck me as a little callous, particularly for someone in the mental health profession.

I've been hospitalized on more than one occasion and I'd like to think there's some interest in what it's like to be a patient, but with all due respect, comments like the one referenced above tend to discourage me from posting. I highly doubt that I'm the only former patient who feels this way.

Again, I'm just offering this as a view from the "other side," so to speak, not as a condemnation of anyone, and I hope I won't be attacked for voicing my concerns.

Rebbnix, I had the same impression you did looking at this. While there was documented abuse at this particular facility, this photo (in my opinion) shows that there were some positive aspects. Art projects are great for kids -- and who doesn't love teddy bears? :)

This actually doesn't look all that bad for a seclusion room. It has toilet facilities, light and ventilation. The ones I've seen were completely bare; then again, in the places I've been people aren't generally kept in the "time out room" for an extended length of time, as they appear to have been in this place.

Thank you, Chloe. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way. People clearly were mistreated in this place. Does that mean they're mistreated everywhere? Of course not. It's the exception, not the rule. Granted, I tend to be biased in favor of patients, having been one myself on more than one occasion, but I don't believe there's any justification for what we're seeing in this photo. It's demeaning, it's degrading and it's dehumanizing.

LOL @ J-131274. Big T is an ass who needs to be publicly whipped for desecrating this beautiful old building.

Okay, that's a bit extreme, but seriously. What a classless moron.