The Weston State Hospital also known as the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Check out more Vids from Abandoned Steve http://abandonedsteve.com/ http://www.youtube.com/user/steveman0018?feature=watch The Weston State Hospital also known as the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. Opened in 1864. This Kirkbride psychiatric hospital is the largest hand cut stone masonry building in North America, second largest in the world. This building was part of the Kirkbride Plan which was designed by Thomas Kirkbride. The Kirkbride Plan was designed for Moral Treatment with long wings staggered from each other to provide plenty of sunlight and fresh air. All kirkbride architecture represented a Victorian style era with large tall entrances. In the 1900s, the krikbride plan of moral treatment became less used and it buildings were becoming expensive to maintain. A lot of them were left abandoned, most torn down but a lot still stand today. This Kirkbride was designed to hold 250 patients but by 1950, it had 2,600. It closed in 1994 b/c of changes in the treatment of mental illnesses and the building was falling apart. During the 19th century, the humans who were said to have mental illnesses would end up in these asylums. They were brought in by confinement cribs and had many treatments practice on them which were said to help release there poison. These treatments were known as shock therapy (patients were given insulin in a large dose that would put them in a coma for an hour. This treatment would be repeated many time sometime killing the individual since no guidelines were set on how much of a dose could be given), hydrotherapy (patients were placed in a tub suspended on a hammock and a sheet was cut out for their head to immobilize them and to prevent them from drowning), Bloodletting (It was said that the mentally insane has poisonousness blood and by removing it, they would be a normal human again. This was done by either leaches or incision to try and drain the blood. This would often leave patients exhausted and anemic. Sometimes transfusions were also attempted with some being animal blood.), and the most controversial method known as Lobotomy (This was performed on over 25,000 in the united states in by the mid 50s by severing the connections in the frontal love of the brain thus rending them docile). During the years of its abandonment, copper thieves went through and removed a lot of the wiring in the building. There was also a case were off duty police officers used the building for paint ball games which they were all caught and believed to be released from their duty. A preservation group bought the property for around 1.5 million dollars and today it uses public tours to try and make revenue to keep it history alive. Check out the website for find out more and get yourself in to tour this great place. http://www.trans-alleghenylunaticasyl

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BARTONVILLE STATE HOSPITAL

UPDATE
THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR BARTONVILLE STATE HOSPITAL
http://www.savethebowen.com/default.php

Want to tour BARTONVILLE STATE HOSPITAL or spend the night legally ?
Check this site out.

http://www.ghostasylum.com/



Peoria State Hospital Historic District, also known as Bartonville State Hospital or Illinois Hospital for the Incurable Insane, was a mental health hospital operated by the State of Illinois. It was abandoned in 1973. The hospital grounds and its 47 buildings are listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. The hospital is located in Bartonville, Illinois, near the city of Peoria in Peoria County.
Construction at the site started in 1895 with the main building being completed in 1897. The 1897 building was never used as its structural integrity was compromised when the abandoned mine shafts it stood over collapsed. Interestingly enough, the 1927 history of the hospital gives a fully different reason for the abandonment of the first structure:
"The first building erected was a facsimile of a feudal castle, but before it was occupied it was found to be wholly out of harmony with modern ideas for the care of the insane and it was razed and replaced by the present cottage plan, under the direction of Dr. Frederick Howard Wines, the able secretary of the State Board of Charities."

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In 1902 the facility was rebuilt under the direction of Dr. George Zeller. The hospital became a complex under Zeller as a cottage system of 33 buildings was employed as opposed to the former enormous castle-like building. Among the buildings at Bartonville State included patient and caretaker housing, a store, a power station, and a communal utility building.
After the hospital finally began operation, under Zeller on February 10, 1902, patients characterized as "incurably insane" were transferred to Bartonville State from other Illinois facilities. In 1906 the hospital opened a training school for nurses. From 1907 to 1909 the Illinois Hospital for the Incurable Insane, as Peoria State Hospital was known, became the Illinois General Hospital for the Insane.

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At its peak in the 1950s, Bartonville housed 2,800 patients. When closure was announced in 1972, patient census had dropped to 600.From 1917 until 1961 the hospital was operated by the Illinois Department of Public Welfare. In 1961 the Department of Mental Health was created and assumed responsibility of Peoria State Hospital which closed in 1973. After the hospital closed the buildings stood empty and were auctioned off. The auction buyer was bankrupt and Winsley Duran, Jr. took over ownership with the hope of creating office space in the structures. The buildings, however, remain empty. There is now a new owner who hopes to open the hospital to the public for touring.
The first architects to design buildings on the site of Peoria State Hospital were the firm Reeves and Baillie. The firm notably designed the Peoria City Hall building as well. The grounds consists of 47 buildings, many of which are residential in nature and laid out to the traditional cottage plan, common among mental hospitals during this period.[1] The first main building constructed was on the Kirkbride Plan. It resembled a castle. It was later torn down because it was said to be built over an abandoned mine shaft which cause the foundation to crack and nearly collapse.



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Peoria State Hospital maintains a reputation as a haunted spot. Claims are that the area is still inhabited by the ghosts of many former patients. The idea is probably perpetuated by the fact that there are four on-site cemeteries, because Zeller implemented a system for burying the hospital's unidentified deceased. One specific ghost yarn tells of the spirit of "Old Book", a patient who dug graves at the hospital until his own demise. It is said that upon his death he took over the physical form of a tree on the grounds dubbed the "Graveyard Elm". Locally it is known as the "crying tree." Though several attempts have been made at removing the tree it no longer stands at the hospital.

MORE PICTURES OF BARTONVILLE STATE HOSPITAL

http://ilexploration2.tripod.com/bsh/bsh2.htm

STILL


Kevin Gray from Peoria Il. rock band the MEGASONICS first solo short music film. Their are a few shots of Bartonville State hospital

SESSIONS 9 Filmed at Danvers State Hospital

An asbestos abatement crew wins the bid for an abandoned insane asylum. What should be a straightforward, if rather rushed, job, is complicated by the personal histories of the crew. In particular, Hank is dating Phil's old girlfriend, and Gordon's new baby seems to be unnerving him more than should be expected. Things get more complicated as would-be lawyer Mike plays the tapes from a former patient with multiple personalities, including the mysterious Simon who does not appear until Session 9, and as Hank disappears after finding some old coins.

Sessions 9 was filmed at Danvers State Hospital - 450 Maple Street, Danvers, Massachusetts, USA


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SESSIONS 9 TRIVIA

This was one of the first feature films shot using Sony's 24P HD video, which shoots at 24 frames per second, like film, as opposed to the 30 frames per second of conventional NTSC video. Using this technology, Brad Anderson and director of photography Uta Briesewitz were able to produce the uniquely effective, deep-focus images using mostly natural light.

Actor David Caruso reports in the official Production Notes that he saw "something pass my window" when shooting inside the Bonner Medical Building of Danvers State Hospital. "I didn't want to tell anybody, because people would start looking at me strangely..."

Brad Anderson was inspired to use the Danvers Mental Hospital as he drove past it every day.

The film unit only ever used a very small percentage of the building as most of it was off limits as it was unsafe.

SPOILER: A subplot was filmed involving a homeless woman who lives in the asylum. In the original ending, she witnesses all the murders and then kills Gordon. According to the DVD commentary, this subplot was removed because test audiences became confused, thinking she was actually Mary (the voice on the tape).

SPOILER: The shot in which you see Mike (Stephen Gevedon) walking through the gym from the balcony before his demise, was originally a long shot from the point of view from the homeless woman that was in the original subplot of the film that was cut. The full version of the scene is featured on the DVD's deleted scenes.

SPOILER: The only CG in the film is the lobotomy tool which is pulled out of Josh Lucas's eye. Lucas raised his head to signify the tool being extracted from his skull.


DANVERS STATE HOSPITAL TRIVIA

Most of the buildings on campus were connected by a labyrinth of underground tunnels. There was a tunnel that ran from a steam/power generating plant (which still exists to provide service to the Hogan Regional Center) located at the bottom of the hill running up to the hospital, along with tunnels that connected the Male and Female Nurses Homes, "Gray Gables", Bonner Medical Building, Machine Shops, Pump House, and a few others. A system of tunnels also branched off like spokes from a central hub behind the Kirbride building (in the vicinity of the old gymnasium) leading to different wards of the hospital. They emerged up into the basement in different areas. This hub was also an underground maintenance area of sorts- some urban explorers nicknamed it "The Wagon Wheel".

Danvers State Hospital was almost located in Winthrop, Massachusetts under the name "Massachusetts State Hospital", however it was decided that the Danvers location was better suited for the needs of the state.

The glacial drumlin the asylum sat on once was the site of the home of John Hathorne, one of the judges in the Salem witch trials. (Danvers was known as Salem Village at the time, and it was the site of the trials.) Today the part of Danvers where the hospital was located is called Hathorne.

Apparently much of the witch trial incidents occurred in vicinity of the hill. It is widely believed that ergot poisoning caused by fungus contaminated bread may have caused hallucinations that led to the witch phenomena, and it is quite possible that said contaminated crops were grown around this hill as well.

Danvers is not the only Massachusetts state mental hospital to be struck by fire. The Taunton State Hospital also caught fire on March 19, 2006, damaging many of the long-vacant buildings. Worcester State Hospital, a Kirkbride Plan asylum in Worcester, MA, suffered a catastrophic fire in 1991 that obliterated significant portions of the historic main building.

A COOL DANVERS VIDEO

Spooked The Ghosts of Waverly Hills Sanatorium

THE DARKSIDE IS NOT DEAD. IVE BEEN HIDDING IN THE SHADOWS, WAITING FOR YOU TO STOP BYE




As seen on the Sci Fi Channel. True Stories and Hauntings of Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky. This horrific Five story structure is listed as one of the Top Ten Scariest Places on Earth, due to the 63,000+ deaths within this monument of Terror. They were then carried through the massive Five hundred foot underground Tunnel to their final resting place. This highly acclaimed documentary follows Hollywood filmmakers as they uncover the shocking history within the haunted halls of "The Scariest Place On Earth", Waverly Hills Sanatorium, a monster of a building where it is said over 63,000 people died. Some say the DEAD are still there!


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SPOOKED Behind The Scenes Interview


SPOOKED Behind The Scenes Interview 2



DEATH TUNNEL PREVIEW

SPOOKED WEBSITE

Like what you see ? Leave a DEATH THREAT (comment). In return I might let you live through the night.

ASYLUM IN TRANSYVLANIA -VBS.TV Halloween Special

VBS traveled to the spookiest place we could come up with, a hospital for the criminally insane in Transylvania. They wanted to see how Romania’s mental healthcare system deals with its murderous crazies, but were also looking forward to basking in all the rampant gothness. In this episode, VBS correspondent Chrissy Barnes and crew made their way into Draculaland via one of the creepiest and most dangerous mountain highways in the world.

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ELOISE MENTAL HOSPITAL

Once one of the largest and best mental health hospitals in the country with more than 8,000 patients, Eloise, later Wayne County General, was closed in 1981 after years of financial problems and mental health reforms.



For More info check out


http://www.talesofeloise.com/main.html

http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=106&category=locations

http://ghostwatchers.org/eloise.html

WHITTINGHAM MENTAL ASYLUM

The asylum was built in 1873 and enlarged in 1879 to accommodate 2895 patients. Before becoming the hospital, it was the long-time residence of the Waring family. The house was built in 1869 by Cooper and Tullis of Preston, to the designs of Henry Littler for £338,000.

In the early days of the hospital, all supplies, including coal and provisions, had to be transported by horse and cart from Preston – a distance of 7 miles (11 km) – or from Longridge at the terminus of the Preston and Longridge Railway some 3½ miles (5.6 km) distant. The cartage was expensive; permanently staffed with a stud of horses and vehicles. In 1884, the significant costs of this operation prompted the authorities to consider building a railway between the hospital and the village of Grimsargh 2 miles (3.2 km) to the southeast.

The hospital itself was Known for its awful treatment of patients. In the 1960's it was found that some were being tied up, left in cupboards for hours at a time and even dragged around by their hair. There was also widespread fraud.

The hospital itself closed in the mid 1990's and is awaiting redevelopment.







For More info check out
http://www.whittinghamhospital.co.uk/

http://www.geocities.com/urbexers3/infil.htm

KINGS PARK / PILGRIM STATE MENTAL ASYLUMS

EXPLORATION OF THE KINGS PARK AND PILGRIM STATE MENTAL ASYLUMS



What happens when you mix teens, alcohol, camcorders and abandoned mental asylums ?


CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT














SOME HISTORY OF KINGS PARK,














The Kings Park Psychiatric Center was established in 1885 by what was then the City of Brooklyn, prior to the merging of Brooklyn with Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx, to form the famous New York City. The official name of the hospital in its first ten years was the "Kings County Asylum," taken from the name of the county that Brooklyn occupied. The hospital was revolutionary at the time in the sense that it was a departure from the asylums of folklore, which were overcrowded places where gross human rights abuses often took place. The asylum, built by Brooklyn to alleviate overcrowding in its own asylums, was a "Farm Colony" asylum, where patients worked in a variety of farm-related activities, such as feeding livestock and growing food, as this was considered to be a form of therapy for the mentally ill at the time.

Eventually, overcrowding became a problem in the Kings County Asylum, the very thing that it was trying to relieve. New York State responded to the problem in 1895, when control of the asylum passed into state hands, and it was subsequently renamed the Kings Park State Hospital. The surrounding community, which had previously been known as "St. Johnland," adopted the name "Kings Park," which it is still known as today. The state eventually built the hospital up into a self-sufficient community that not only grew its own food, but also generated its own heat and electricity, had its own Long Island Rail Road spur, and housed its staff on-site.

As patient populations grew throughout the early part of the 20th century, the hospital itself continued to grow, and by the late 1930s the state began to build upward instead of outward. During this time period, the famous 13-story Building 93 was built. Designed by state architect William E. Haugaard and funded with Works Progress Administration money, the building, often dubbed "the most famous asylum building on Long Island," was completed in 1939 and would be used as an infirmary for the facility's geriatric patients, as well as for patients with chronic physical ailments.

Post-World War II, Kings Park and the other Long Island asylums would see their patient populations soar. In 1954, the patient census at Kings Park topped 9,300, but would begin a steady decline afterwards. By the time Kings Park reached its peak patient population, the old "rest and relaxation" philosophy surrounding farming gave way to pre-frontal lobotomies and electro-shock therapy, but those methods would quickly become ancient in 1955, following the introduction of Thorazine, the first widely used drug in the treatment of mental illness. As medication made it possible for patients to live normal lives outside of a mental institution, the need for large facilities like Kings Park diminished, and the patient population began to drop. By the early 1990s the Kings Park Psychiatric Center, as it had come to be known by that point, was operating as a ghost of its former self, with many buildings being shut down or reduced in usage (including the massive Building 93, by the early 1990s, only the first few floors of the building were in use).

In the early 1990s, with patient populations at increasingly low levels, the New York State Office of Mental Health (formerly the Department of Mental Hygiene) began to plan for the closure of Kings Park as well as another Long Island asylum, the Central Islip Psychiatric Center. The plans called for Kings Park and Central Islip to close, and have any remaining patients from both facilities transferred to Pilgrim Psychiatric Center, which was at one time the world's largest hospital, or be discharged. In the fall of 1996, the plans were implemented, and the few remaining patients from Kings Park and Central Islip were transferred to Pilgrim, ending Kings Park's 111-year run.

SOME HISTORY OF PILGRIM PSYCHIATRIC CENTER





















By 1900, overcrowding in city asylums was becoming a major problem that many tried to resolve. One answer was to put the mentally ill to work farming in a relaxing setting on what was then rural Long Island. The new state hospitals were dubbed "Farm Colonies" because of their live-and-work treatment programs, agricultural focus and patient facilities. However, these farm colonies, the Kings Park State Hospital (later known as the Kings Park Psychiatric Center) and the Central Islip State Hospital (later known as the Central Islip Psychiatric Center), quickly became overcrowded, just like the earlier institutions they were supposed to replace.

NY state responded by making plans for a third so-called farm colony, what was to become the Pilgrim State Hospital, named in honor of the former New York State Commissioner of Mental Health, Dr. Charles W. Pilgrim. The state bought up approx. 1,000 acres of land in Brentwood and began construction in 1929. The hospital opened on October 1, 1931 as a close knit community with its own police and fire department, courts, post office, a LIRR station, power plant, potter's field, water tower and houses for doctors, psychiatrists, and asylum administrators. A series of underground tunnels were used for routing steam pipes and other vital utilities.

The hospital would continue to grow as the patient population increased. Eventually, the state of New York bought up more land to the southwest of the facility to construct Edgewood State Hospital, a short-lived stand-alone facility that operated under Pilgrim's umbrella.

During World War II, the War Department took over control of the entire Edgewood facility along with three new buildings at Pilgrim, buildings 81, 82, and 83 (visible from the Long Island Expressway and still used today). The War Department constructed numerous temporary structures and operated Edgewood and buildings 81-83 as "Mason General Hospital," a psychiatric hospital devoted to treating battle-traumatized soldiers. Famed filmmaker John Huston, who received a special commission in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II, made a documentary at Mason called "Let There Be Light" that showed the effects of war on mental health. The film sparked a firestorm of controversy and was not seen by the public until 1981.

After the war, Pilgrim experienced a surge in patient numbers that made it the world's largest hospital, topping out at 13,875 patients in 1954, around this time, the old "rest and relaxation" philosophy gave way to more extreme measures like pre-frontal lobotomies and electro-shock therapy. However, Pilgrim and the other state hospitals began to decline shortly afterwards with the arrival of pharmaceutical alternatives to institutionalization.

Pilgrim is today the last of the state asylums still operating on Long Island. However, it is no longer what it used to be. The farming section of the hospital was sold off, renovated, and became the Western Campus of the Suffolk County Community College in 1974. A large part of the Pilgrim campus was sold to a developer, and numerous abandoned structures on those lands were demolished in recent years, however, rebuilding has not begun. Other abandoned structures, like the former administration building, medical/surgical building, doctor's residences and utilities section remain standing for the time being (those parts of the campus are owned by the developer as well). Only about a third of the original Pilgrim campus is still in operation, though its future is also cloudy.

Pilgrim also hosts a museum on site, which displays items from Kings Park, Central Islip, Pilgrim, and Edgewood such as pictures, old newsletters, relics from abandoned and/or demolished buildings, and other historical information that hint back to a largely forgotten era.

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