Sunday, November 22, 2009

Willard Asylum


This is Willard State Hospital, which was built in the 1860's and originally called "Willard Asylum." More than 50,000 patients were admitted to the facility in its 126 years. At its peak in 1955 it had over 4,000 patients, but state hospitals began to use newly developed antipsychotic drugs to control patients crammed into ever-tighter living quarters. In the early 1970s, political and economic factors including new laws that promoted patients' rights and forbade unpaid patient labor resulted in a shift away from long-term institutionalization. It was closed in 1996. I believe this building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Unfortunately, the grounds are now run by the NYS Department of Correctional Services, so I was reluctant to go on to the property to look for other images.
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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 23, 2009 at 3:00 PM

    Too bad you didn't try to see if there was an abandoned building you could explore, like the ones that Pilgrim Psychiatric Center. Poignant photograph/story about one of the buildings...
    http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://eaesthete.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/attic.jpg&imgrefurl=http://theerrantaesthete.com/2008/05/03/the-lives-they-left-behind/&usg=__CRvN8Ci5gxcx2u6EgsEWsUQdKLU=&h=549&w=607&sz=268&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=k-sn9TTfixoK2M:&tbnh=123&tbnw=136&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwillard%2Bstate%2Bhospital%2Babandoned%2Bbuildings%2Bphotos%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26um%3D1

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  2. TraceNovember 23, 2009 at 5:11 PM

    The picture has an eerie and haunted feeling to it. It's sad to think about the poor tormented souls who once lived there.

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  3. Ken SpencerNovember 23, 2009 at 9:08 PM

    Thanks for the link. I spent days shooting inside Pilgrim State Hospital and Kings Park, and other abandoned mental hospitals on Long Island. I was shooting 4x5 black and white, and the photo essay ran in the old sunday magazine. But that was then, and this is now, and I am trying to get approval to come back to this building for more shooting. I did see the website about the baggage and personal items discovered in the attic of this facility when it closed. A very moving story. I plan on getting the book.

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  4. ChuckNovember 24, 2009 at 9:06 PM

    I knew if I waited, you'd share more information about this shot. Thanks.

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  5. MidgeMarch 28, 2010 at 10:02 PM

    Oh, this story is tragic! Those poor people. I looked at the suitcase site and Yikes, looks like I could have ended up there back then.

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