Early Bird

It was unbelievably cold and dark when we pulled up to Westborough State Hospital for the first time, back in 2006, when the hospital was still in operation and quite off limits to the public. I sipped my shitty gas station coffee in the car, watching the skeleton crew change shifts under the tungsten street lamps and wishing we got there twenty minutes earlier to avoid this activity. The sun was rapidly cresting the horizon though, and it was time to just go for it.

Once inside, we found the old wards to be emptied of usable furniture and items long ago, but their condition was remarkable. Having closed so long ago, these spaces were saved from modernization in the 1980s and 1990s, which often resulted in an unpleasant looking makeover. Vandalism seemed nonexistent as well - other than a few surveyor marks, it appeared that few people had explored these dark halls. Probably for good reason too, as several wards had suffered enough damage to cause the floors to collapse. The joists in one ward had simply separated from the wall, causing the floor to fold over like a piece of paper. Though there was some water damage, it didn't seem too advanced to my eye, and I wondered if there was a design flaw that caused this catastrophic failure.

Due to the facility being in operation, I was unable to photograph exteriors until after the hospital was fully closed, and the last few shots are from a short visit I made twelve years later. Unfortunately I found this wonderful place to have been thoroughly vandalized, set on fire, and heavily patrolled, though that is usually what happens when an abandoned hospital gets its own facebook page. I hope most of the place holds up long enough for some kind of re-use, though I am certain the old wards I photographed are beyond saving.