Comments

It's probably plaster that crumbled. These are amazing.

Well, I have to admit, I have been wondering more and more about these devices and I asked for information about them tonight from a fellow who has lived where I work since 1929 (hard to believe, isn't it?) and he wasn't familiar with them at all. He worked the farm and the kitchen, though - never the laundry. He said they are definitely not incubators and definitely not ovens, however. When I told him that someone suggested they put people in them for cremation, he was quite insulted and wondered "what's wrong with people to think something as awful as that?" 8`-)

The mattress steamers I have seen before look like these and they used the vents to blow scalding hot steam across the mattresses. However, I have to shamefacedly admit that the more I look at these the less they look like the ones I saw all those years back. I have one more place to go to check these out, and that is the laundry at work. Some of the folks who work there have been there 35+ years, and if anyone can give a positive ID on these, they can do it.

Sorry, Bill - I'll let you know what I can find out - it might still be right, but it might be wrong.

P.S. Here is a reference about "mattress sterilizer buildings" from a 1918 article:
http://www.oldhickorychamber.org/oldhickory.htm

Donna and weasel,

People blow me away with stories like these. Keep them coming. There are so many sides - anyone who thinks they have the answer, especially someone like me, is bound to be wrong much of the time. The only way to know is to continue to learn from people who have walked the walk.

Thank you for your stories - they are difficult to read and must have been very difficult to live.

Yeah, DO you go commando? *blushes and runs away*

The Salmon building is very cool, it's like a trip back into the old school days of locking up the crazies to the point of confinement. Very close to a prison. Maybe worse, in some ways.

Hey, motts, how did you get into these buildings? (if there have been over 100 arrests or whatnot)

Did you talk to the people that own the land and ask permission, or did you go comando and sneak in? just curios.

I notice a lot of places on your site from md, but I didnt notice the henryton sanitorium. I do this sort of thing a lot too.

Email me Mattshood@Hotmail.com and let me know.

Gorgeous photo's btw. If you get on aim, my instant messenger name is foursidedoctagon.

Someone appears to have blocked up the cooling vents of the motor to keep out the dirt.

This shot looks almost superficial. It's amazing, something like a dream. I love it.

Along the bottom,the inside of the firebox and the inserts above the mantle look like soap stone, i hope someone is decent enough to save this, i am sure it is one of a kind.

I'm not absolutely sure what these are, but exciters is my best guess. I doubt they are phase convertors as a generating station will already have three phase power available. Nice pictures!

I've seen lots of blueprints and the like while inside, but I generally don't spend much time rifling through them, the interesting ones are usually gone anyhow.

I enjoy collecting artifacts like postcards and architectural drawings to places I've been to or am planning to visit, which is how I came across the old floor plan.

Nope, nothing left.

The colors in true life were pretty wild, I guess it's all lab chemicals mixing together on the floor!

Corporate thinking at it's best, sounds like something from a Dilbert comic.

I'll take a day at the beach over that any day