4,537 Comments for Pennhurst State School

Lynn, your post is most insightful and informative. Thank you for taking the time to educate. Ever think of becoming a politician? ( Meant in a positive way)

freaky isolation unit..
never want to be in there.

we took a picture of a corner why?

thats really sick

I'm disappointed...no one has mentioned the soap dispensers hanging from the ceiling (apparently they are too high for the little girl to reach to wash her dress....

Jeez, Lynne, I was so glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read your comment about the "whaling wall"!!!

Well, there would be a mattress on it. This is merely a non-electric hospital bed. You would manually wind the head or knees up with a handle at the bottom of the bed. It hasn't been all that long ago that a LOT of hospitals still had these beds.

Sounds like an episode from X-Files.....

I live literally twelve feet away from CSI, the history of the site is terrifying. I live on the side of the campus where the abandon buildings still stand, and can see them from my bedroom window. After researching the school over the past few months, I am afraid of walking around alone near my house. Especially after reading of escapes and homicidle patients. At night it is very unsettling.

"This has a 'jail cell' look to it. This one may have been an isolation unit. "

Or simply a leftover bed that was stored in an empty room when the facility was being shut down.

Interesting...were there any other pictures of this type? If not, it does seem odd without any explanation or artist's signature.

Reminds me of the murals in San Francisco's Coit Tower that depict, among other things, the history of migrant farm workers in the area.

Remember that bit from "Sophie's Choice" where the landlady explained that she'd painted all her rooms a salmon pink color because she got a great discount on the surplus Army paint? I wonder if that had any basis in reality. I know that pink was used in hospitals because it was once thought to be a soothing color, and back around the turn of the 20th century pink was considered a boy's color (because shades of red are strong and powerful) whereas blue was dainty and meant for girls. Don't know when or why that got switched around. Anyway, does anyone know if hospital paint colors may have been chosen because the state could get a big discount on certain colors that weren't generally popular?

The Commode Abode

I'm not sure I understand...were these rooms sealed off when Pennhurst was in operation, or after it closed down? (perhaps to prevent vandals from gaining access?)

Why are the sides of the tub so high? Was there originally a ramp or set of steps to assist people in getting in and out?