The Holy Trinity Church

Declining populations affect other institutions other than businesses and schools.  Churches are no stranger to abandonment and The Holy Trinity Church is no different.  Established in 1901 as a small wood frame house of worship, the church served the community, expanding to include a school(later demolished) and rectory adjacent to the remaining stone structure.  The Holy Trinity Church was abandoned in the 1970's as the population shifted and ground was broken for a new church with less expensive upkeep.  The choir loft is currently populated with pigeons.  Jesus wept.

Rockland Psychiatric Hospital, Revisited

Last winter, I got it into my mind to go bowling  And so, on a bright cold morning, we trekked through the winding campus of Rockland Psychiatric Hospital to Building 40.  Building 40 was used as a recreation hall for patients during the heyday of the institute and featured a projector for films, as well as an indoor basketball court and bowling alley.  While the ball return no longer functions, we bowled a few frames the old fashioned way.

Connecticut School for Imbeciles

The Connecticut School for Imbeciles opened it's doors to the feeble minded and other-wise unwanted in 1860, merging with a school for epileptics some time later.  As with most training schools for the developmentally disabled, it was rife with over crowding during it's heyday.  Residents worked the farm adjacent, providing food for the campus.  The school closed for good in 1993, following a series of lawsuits.  One of the more prominent buildings on the campus is the Knight Hospital, which has suffered greatly from vandals and the elements over the years.  The lower levels flood periodically, while a lone gurney sits in a staff access hallway near what is left of the lab.  The ceilings of the upper floors have developed skylights in some places, turning the walls to rot.

The Seaside Sanitorium

Along the New England coast looms The Seaside Sanitorium.  The building opened it's doors in 1934 to children suffering from tuberculosis with the idea that open air and gentle sea breezes would help the long term infection.  The advent of medications to treat tuberculosis led to it's brief closing in 1959, but was quickly converted into a geriatric facility, followed by a residence for the mentally handicapped until it's final closure in 1996.  The Seaside is a historically registered landmark, but given it's prime real estate, faces an uncertain fate.
The most notable feature of The Seaside Sanitorium is the "Rusty Fun Slide"; a centrally located metal spiral slide designed as a fire escape.  The idea was to slide patients down on bedclothes to safety in event of a fire.  The playgrounds sit unused and rusting alongside overgrown gardens.  Paint peels and plaster crumbles, while moss carpets the floors in patches.  Looking at the remaining children's decorations, one can almost hear the youths that inhabited The Seaside Sanitorium laughing, coughing, and eventually falling as silent as the structure itself.