747 Comments for Foster State Hospital

El Chupacabra strikes again =)

Wow cool angles I hate to sound cliche but they just don’t build them like that anymore.

Such crazy pattern in the cracking of the paint it all gives it this surreal look. Put a melting clock on the wall and a lobster on the floor and it would be like walking into a Salvador Dali panting.

Love the color in this one plus the way the paint is still in the early stage of cracking and peeling.

Definitely a factor to consider - I'm sure the "incurable" wards looked a lot different, even in the heyday of the asylum era.

Many reasons for admission were quite different compared to today's standards as well (alcoholism, depression, epilepsy, political / religious excitement, recommendation by husband, uncontrollable fits of laughter, etc).

True; I was looking at it from a historical perspective - the original purpose of the room, which was probably a single bedroom given the dimensions and observation window.

I think that it was probably converted into an office at some point, given the low hanging ceiling light and exposed electrical outlet and conduit.

Thanks once again for the wonderful gallery Mr Motts. I have got to ask how do you always find such wonderful places to photograph. I have looked at a lot of the other sites and they are good but you seem to find better locations and consistently.

I think ppl are forgetting there are varying degrees of insanity. These well-dressed men were obviously not as bad off mentally as the 'typical' patient.
These shots are good promotion of the 'nicer' side of asylums.

I have a hard time accepting that this was a patient cell with that dangling light fixture in it. Hmmm...

@ Norway: There is way more debris on the sides right next to the walls. The critters (zombies!) took the easiest route. lol.

Look how well dressed they were. Not very realistic was it.

The two side windows maybe were blocked due to being broken and it was easier/ cheaper to block them than repair?

Yeah, I think it's pretty obvious the 'before' shot was posed. I can just imagine them getting their 'best' patients to sit for these old shots. Makes me a bit sad for some reason.

Motts' shot is better. IJS. =]

This is called a "geri" chair. Used for little old ladies it helped them stay upright while sitting in the chair. The tray could be fastened at various points to support the mid section of a patient. In the new era of no mechanical restraints this chair was considered confining and they were no longer allowed to be used. Not sure that was a good move. At least the tray kept patients from falling forward, but if they were small they could slide out under the tray and were possibly in danger of choking themselves.

The before pics leave me with the feeling they were 'posed' for the benefit of positive publicity. Everything and everyone is too tidy and well-behaved. Definitely not realistic.