485 Comments for Manteno State Hospital

This is beautiful...It really does look like its sitting on a cliff or something..

Great way to end the tour, thanks

Maybe those were hydrotherapy tubs.

Looks like someone had a lot to say.

did Michaelangelo paint the ceiling?

Looks like someone so wired on meth 'wrote' all those words.

Just knowing that these are probably the hydrotherapy tubs spoken of in Gennie's story make me feel like I've been kicked in the stomach. To be put in a bathtub full of ice cold water repeatedly to "cure" you of your mental illness is so pathetically medieval.

nvusofmotts ,I couldn't have said it better !!!!!

Such a powerful story in the walls where it took place, amazing

....oh GEEZ!!! here we go again. Once again, comments CAN be hidden, and, as mentioned, most ARE about the pictures. Including mine. I'd like to tell ya that I'll make an attempt at being very "dry, serious, and "to the point" , not allowing anything that might actually make someone crack a smile (wouldn't want THAT to happen), but in reality, probably not gonna happen.....sorry (said while crossing fingers behind back...;-)). (Hmm. always did like the term "unclench" ;-))

Motts, hey what's up with the forum? I hope it comes back soon.

No ice baths - sorry - don't know where people come up with that stuff but it's not physiologically possible to put someone in a tub of ice and have them survive for more than a very short time. This is especially the case for people with chronic mental health issues who usually also had accompanying health issues and who would not have been able to survive exposure to freezing water for more than a few minutes. Remember to read up on your physiology 101 before believing that people were put in ice baths. Sounds dramatic, very sensational, makes some peoples' pulses race to think about the "abject cruelty of man against man", but sorry - didn't happen. But I am sure some of you will be happy to know that other cruelties did in fact exist and were actually documented. I prefer that people rail against things that actually happened rather than strange urban legends like this one.

These were most likely hydrotherapy tubs and yes, when hospitals had populations of 6000 to 8000 folks and before psychotropic medication drugs were invented, that was one of the few therapeutic interventions that did a little bit of good.

Look up continuous hydrotherapy under Google books, for the book "Hydrotherapy" by Guy Hinsdale from 1910, and see pages 289 and 290. This used to be state of the art therapy and yes, many people were in baths at the same time in the same room. Different era, different techniques, different theories of what was happening and how people should be treated, no drugs available, no funding, overcrowded hospitals.

nvousofmotts,

Thanks for the pook bucket - I really needed it for that shot. Much appreciated.

Also, you were much kinder to Quinnifer than I would have been, but that's OK. Maybe you'll help me learn to be more patient with people who barge onto a new site and feel the need to make unkind public comments about other posters.

Absolutely marvelous shot, Motts, I always like your hallway shots.

Great angle - I also am usually against painting on the walls, but this is an absolutely chilling and fantastic project.