This hospital is one of the most well-known abandoned locations in the state of New York, and it's somewhere I had wanted to shoot for a long time.
The complex opened as a Tuberculosis sanatorium in 1912, and was used as such until 1960 when it was handed over to the State for use as a State School. State Schools are kind of halfway between a school and an asylum, as they care for and educate developmentally disabled, mentally ill youngsters. In 1995 the treatment of such disabilities was changing, much like it did in the UK, and the entire hospital shut down and sits there to this day as a decaying monument.
I can remember looking at photos of the place years back, long before I had any real interest or drive in American exploring and thinking it looked awesome. Never did I really think I would be able to explore it myself years down the line. However most people who have explored this place will automatically say one thing - that it's an absolute bitch to do without getting the police called on you. It's located on top of a hill in a tiny town, and the residents are so finely tuned to look out for strangers holding camera gear as they walk through the streets towards it that they have been known to call police there and then. A few years back my friends got stormed by armed police and arrested, and arrests were commonplace here until a couple of years back. Now as the buildings are too decayed and dangerous for them to enter the police will just sit outside until you emerge onto the road and issue you a heavy fine for your trouble. But hey, that's better than getting arrested.
Luckily, none of that happened on my visit!
The absolute best thing about this place is that it is built sunk into a hill, so when you are in the site there is almost zero outside noise, the road that runs past is pretty quiet at the best of times but it's almost creepy just how dead silent it is in there. Our only company all day came in the form of a number of vultures circling overhead. The state of decay in here having been closed for two decades is amazing, and very photogenic. The outside architecture of the place is equally stunning and all beginning to fall apart as well, with balconies crumbling and roofs collapsing. I really enjoyed it here as you can probably tell.
Thanks for looking
The complex opened as a Tuberculosis sanatorium in 1912, and was used as such until 1960 when it was handed over to the State for use as a State School. State Schools are kind of halfway between a school and an asylum, as they care for and educate developmentally disabled, mentally ill youngsters. In 1995 the treatment of such disabilities was changing, much like it did in the UK, and the entire hospital shut down and sits there to this day as a decaying monument.
I can remember looking at photos of the place years back, long before I had any real interest or drive in American exploring and thinking it looked awesome. Never did I really think I would be able to explore it myself years down the line. However most people who have explored this place will automatically say one thing - that it's an absolute bitch to do without getting the police called on you. It's located on top of a hill in a tiny town, and the residents are so finely tuned to look out for strangers holding camera gear as they walk through the streets towards it that they have been known to call police there and then. A few years back my friends got stormed by armed police and arrested, and arrests were commonplace here until a couple of years back. Now as the buildings are too decayed and dangerous for them to enter the police will just sit outside until you emerge onto the road and issue you a heavy fine for your trouble. But hey, that's better than getting arrested.
Luckily, none of that happened on my visit!
The absolute best thing about this place is that it is built sunk into a hill, so when you are in the site there is almost zero outside noise, the road that runs past is pretty quiet at the best of times but it's almost creepy just how dead silent it is in there. Our only company all day came in the form of a number of vultures circling overhead. The state of decay in here having been closed for two decades is amazing, and very photogenic. The outside architecture of the place is equally stunning and all beginning to fall apart as well, with balconies crumbling and roofs collapsing. I really enjoyed it here as you can probably tell.
Thanks for looking
