Rural Depression: 2012

Sunday, December 30, 2012

King's Park Psychiatric Center - The End of an Era

This year, demolition was started on some of the buildings at King's Park. While some of the hallmark structures of the heyday of institutional psychiatric treatment will be spared the wrecking ball, others are being actively abated and destroyed. Some of the older, more dilapidated buildings were simply torn down instead of being abated first. And so, we say goodbye to a by-gone era.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Rutherford-Stuyvesant Estate - The Cock House

The Rutherford-Stuyvesant Estate, in northern NJ, was once a chateau sprawling over the countryside. While the original building has been reduced to foundations mouldering in the woods, some of the other houses on the estate property still stand. The fondly named Cock House has weathered quite well, despite being used as a canvas by one particularly enterprising vandal. As a fan of street art, I couldn't help but marvel at the sheer magnitude of someone's dedication to profanity.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Hudson River State Hospital

Sitting high on a hill over looking the Hudson River in upstate New York is the aptly named Hudson River State Hospital. Opened in 1873, the original state hospital building still stands tall, despite the male ward being stuck by lightning in 2007 and suffering major structural damage. In addition to the original Kirkbride building, the campus featured a working power plant--as most from that era did, an on site morgue and infirmary, and on site housing for staff. The majority of old staff housing in severe disrepair. An additional building, Ryon Hall, was added in 1934 to house the violent and criminally insane. The Cheney Building was added in 1952 to provide additional patient housing, doctor's offices, and examination rooms. The Snow Recreation center opened it's doors to patients in 1971. There, the patients could enjoy bowling, swimming, and socializing. Hudson River State Hospital closed it's doors permanently in 2003. Wandering though the campus, one is struck by the sheer size of what was one of the smaller state hospitals.