1,927 Comments for Pilgrim State Hospital

I worked there for two years in the late 1950s. The patients seemed bored most of the time. I always treated them with respect as I would treat a relative. Good thing, as I have no bad memories of my time there.

I worked there in the late 50’s for two years. On the wards where I was assigned, we did what we could to help the patients. It wasn’t an ideal place to be sick, but far better than today when we see them on the street as homeless.

Closing the hospitals and placing patients in group homes in neighborhoods sounds wonderful. However, would you like to have a group home as your neighbor? If so, you need to contact the Health Department and let them know.

you should update your site to reflect the fact that the main building was demolished. Im not sure when but my wife & i passed by about two weeks ago, the building was nothing more than a huge pile of rubble still surrounded by a chain link fence. It looks like they didn't bother to abate & destroyed it in place

i take care of an 83 yr old lady from long island whose mother died in this hospital in 1935 from tb. i'm thinking she might have had a few mental issues also. r.i.p. marie schultz heizelna (last name i'm sure not spelled correctly. ms. dottie is always so concerned about the treatment of her mom while there. she died when dottie was 5 and she doesn't remember much about her mom except sitting on the bed with her mom and cat when they came to get her.

Tristan, what was the name of the book? I would like to read it.

Kim,
My family is searching for answers to a family mystery. We know our family member was at PSH in 1940. We do not know if she died there or was released. How were you able to get access to records? Thank you for any help you may be able to give.

My grandmother who was a russain immigrant named Laura died in Pilgrim of a pre-frontal lobotomy peformed Dec. 23rd,1947 and she died of in fection.I was never told how she died until I went to see "One FLew Over the Cuckoo's nest when I Was 16.I was not even aware of this barbaric procedure then and had many night mares.I am named after her and looking at these pictures is quite emotional.

Welcome to where time stands still, no one leaves and no one will..."

I worked herw. I was just here a few days ago. There is a ghost here. He is harmless, he was a patient that worked in the powerplant. He died in an accident. No b.s. he waves to me all the time. He liked coffee so I leave him a hazelnut coffee from 7/11. He has never hurt me!

This is the turbine room. Hi pressure super heated steam came into this room. Spun a giant steam turbine that spun a huge electrical generator. What you don't see in this picture is huge windows and a huge roof vent. That allowed steam to escape in case of some kinda failer. Super heated steam will cook you in about 5 seconds.

Located in the Dix Hills area (West Brentwood) of western Long Island, New York, Pilgrim State Hospital was created by the Legislature in 1929 and named for Dr. Charles W. Pilgrim, commissioner of mental health in the early 1900s. It opened on 825 acres with 100 patients transferred from Central Islip. Nine months later it had 2,018 patients. By 1935, it housed nearly 9,000 patients. The peak census was in 1954, with 13,875 patients. At times, Pilgrim had been the world's largest mental hospital. As of 1999, the Pilgrim campus contained 75 structures.

http://www.rootsweb.an...ilgrim_ny/index.html

Not 15,000 patients and my guess is it was not designed for so large a group. The mental hospital where I volunteer was built for 300 and had 2600 at its overcrowded maximum. Just warehousing imo, no longer a hospital or an asylum.

That is my kinda shot

Can't much blame the buildings... Thay didn't do it!

Way too new to contain PCB's... But sill worth some money , can't believe thay left them there?

Anyone looking to take a trip post here ASAP. Only if you live close by the area.