Distractions

Although the storm had passed overnight, rainwater still dripped from the ceiling, drumming rhythmically on the extensive air ducts running throughout the building. The sound traveled through the hollow passages and echoed back into different rooms, creating a rather pleasant sound. The place was charred and barren, except for some mattresses and those ponderous HVAC ducts... I wondered what the fascination was with this place called "Old Bryce." I also wondered why it was called Old Bryce despite being newer than the original Bryce hospital in Tuscaloosa. Perhaps the ruinous state of the building with its Romanesque broken columns simply exudes antiquity.

The real Old Bryce - my thoughts kept turning to that big old Kirkbride building; that's what I wanted to see. Still, I was content in wandering the crispy ruins and enjoying the sensations of being at the Jemison Center. After snapping a few photos I packed up, and on the way out we walked through the completely trashed 1960s-era building called the S.D. Allen Nursing Home. It wasn't really worth pulling the camera out for.