592 Comments for Western State Hospital (Virginia)

Just beautiful!

I'm sorry to hear that. I think most people think the architecture is great... without having personal experience living or working in these places, the darker side of an institution can be overlooked, or simply not even known about if no one speaks up. Thank you for sharing and bringing your experience to light.

You think this place was-is so great? Well I was a patient there for 3 mths. In 1996. The picture made me sick to my stomach, and brought back terrible memories. The mentally ilk need to be treated like people And not drugged and locked up. What a nightmare.

Yes, the numbers were used to prevent social stigma of having a family member name tied to a state hospital, although I disagree on your blanket statement - the early days of the asylum era were often bleak, but not everyone was "left there to die;" many committed family members were visited regularly, and quite a few patients were voluntarily admitted on their own behalf.

Amazing spiral staircase

Wow I don't think I've ever seen an intact (or at least an intact looking) organ in an abandoned building before

Back when asylums were first in use, families would place the patient there and left them to die. When the patient died, they were given a number since having an insane person in your family was an embarrassment.

Thanks! Yes usually people aren't allowed inside these kinds of shuttered places due to liability reasons, but the former patient cemeteries of state institutions are sometimes open to the public... some locations require permission to be obtained to enter the hospital grounds.

What an amazing set of photos ... I take it its against the law to look round places like this....

My mother was in Western State in 1958.

Thankyou for sharing these pictures. Some day this won't exist.

They may have used it for a visiting room for family. Freespirit76, the view was spectacular in it's earlier days. The grounds were gorgeous. It felt peaceful and took you back in time. But then again there was another side, in it's day.

No, "Lectern"

That area shouldn't exist - it's unauthorized. :-)

This building was last used as part of the Staunton Correctional Center, when they re-purposed the old psych hospital into a prison.