Five Before Chaos

Click for slideshow

(Part two may be viewed here)

Ok, so here we go with another installment of my latest obsession:  places one is not supposed to go, namely abandoned hospitals.

For your viewing pleasure, I present to you the old part of the now abandoned Hudson River State Hospital, what is known as a Kirkbride. From kirkbridebuildings.com:

Once state-of-the-art mental healthcare facilities, Kirkbride buildings have long been relics of an obsolete therapeutic method known as Moral Treatment. In the latter half of the 19th century, these massive structures were conceived as ideal sanctuaries for the mentally ill and as an active participant in their recovery. Careful attention was given to every detail of their design to promote a healthy environment and convey a sense of respectable decorum. Placed in secluded areas within expansive grounds, many of these insane asylums seemed almost palace-like from the outside. But growing populations and insufficient funding led to unfortunate conditions, spoiling their idealistic promise.

Within decades of their first conception, new treatment methods and hospital design concepts emerged and the Kirkbride plan was eventually discarded. Many existing Kirkbride buildings maintained a central place in the institutions which began within their walls, but by the end of the 20th century most had been completely abandoned or demolished. A few have managed to survive into the 21st century intact and still in use, but many that survive sit abandoned and decaying—their mysterious grandeur intensified by their derelict condition.

My sweetie and I spent a total of 7 hours on the massive 160+ acre campus, and were lucky enough to get inside the gothic main administrative building (seen below, abandoned around 2000), as well as the women’s ward, (abandoned in the late 70′s).

I can’t begin to describe what I saw, in that it’s breathtaking in an architectural sense (and sad that it is in such a state of decay) and it’s incredible to see the way that buildings decay, even over a relatively short period of time. As soon as a building is not heated, and when it is exposed to the elements from broken windows and such, the transformation is rapid and dramatic.. rot, peeling paint, crumbling plaster, it goes quick. Yes, it’s dangerous as all hell at times, but we exercised extreme caution, especially in the women’s ward, where the decay was incredible; there were collapses that went through all four floors, debris everywhere, etc. It’s also amazing the amount of stuff people leave behind. And of course, from a psychological perspective, it’s pretty nuts. One’s senses are heightened, and although I don’t believe in the paranormal in the least, it’s still creepy as hell. Remember, all those horror stories about mental asylums? This is one of those ones where all that shit actually happened.

For more info on this particular part of the hospital, visit Historic 51, which has tons of info about the HRSH Kirkbride, as well as info on restoration and tons of photos from back in the day.  If you click on the pic above, it takes you to a fantastic photo slideshow I put together for y’all. In the next day or two, I’ll have another post up about another section of the hospital we explored, and within the week, a good movie, as I shot lots of footage.