4,023 Comments for Riverside State Hospital

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Come play with us, Danny....
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Motts, another gorgeous find.
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I really don't know on this one... I don't think anyone else was in that wing when I took the photo.
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It was a large envelope, blank and empty.
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Nah, that'd take away the fun of it all ;-)
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Andrew - do you mean the entire housing turns around while the two fans are spinning?
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This fan is most likely something from the early 20th century, probably between 1905 and 1920. The make is westinghouse, it is known as a gyro fan. The whole thing rotates.
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Great angle!
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MAN! Tha's a @##&%$ cool shot if I ever saw one!
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I can't even begin to express my desire to procure this fan. It is, without a doubt, the the greatest air moving device ever created by man or beast.
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This shot makes me want to listen to some Zeppelin. I love it.
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MOTTS!! Seriously, WTF? Also, don't you hate jerks like me demanding explanations from you?
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The intent, alien as it appears to some, was to treat the so-called "insane" with some modicum of decency and humanity, with compassion and respect, and house them in a beautiful and "humane" environment (and not a "nuthouse") in the hopes that it would help their return to normalcy. This was termed "moral treatment" and actually did a lot of good before the lack of adequate housing for people with mental illness forced the severe overcrowding that led to the infamous abuses that seem to horrify and yet morbidly attract so many to this site. The original builders had compassion for the tenants, which makes me admire them rather than scorn them as it seems you might.

What absolutely stumps me is the condescending attitude and lack of empathy and concern that some people show toward others who are going through a very rough stretch of life. I sincerely hope that if anything ever befalls you or someone you love, you won't have to deal with someone who shows this same lack of concern and respect.
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I am absolutely stumped as to why such meticulous effort in the detail of the architecture / masonry was tended to, (aside from the typical styles of the period) knowing these structures were intended to house the insane. Nothing personal, but highly ornate construction for a nuthouse...
Perhaps the builders were related to the tenants?
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It may well be a piece of cardboard to mimic paper for the purpose of the shot.