conniemac
I hope so as well, but I'm unfortunately fairly jaded and bitter about most people's intentions.

The only Kirkbride asylum I can think of that's still standing and in operation is Bryce Hospital for the Insane in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Know of any others?

Sanatorium != asylum

This place was a sanatorium: a hospital for tuberculosis patients.

Uh...I thought that bed and breakfasts were usually pretty small buildings. This one looks huge enough to be referred to as a hotel.

conniemac: I'd be far more interested in staying in a B & B that was in a converted mental asylum, especially one like that portrayed in Session 9.

Great friggin' flick.

Tony: "I told you to tell 'em you was in a sanitarium not sanitation. Sanitarium, yeah."

Manny: "Wait, you didn't tell..."

Tony: "No, I told you to say you had TB and you was in a sanitarium and you was cured."

Ophelia's Snorkel...The only one that comes to mind right now is the Oregon State Hospital & Training School. It housed not only mental patients, but had a training school for the mentally handicapped. However, I think at least part of the hospital still has patients, mostly those who are under court-ordered observation. The training school was closed long ago and the people either put in group homes or sent to live with family members.

If you've ever seen "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" then you've seen the Oregon State Hospital. The movie was filmed there.

Mcmenamins does this up in Portland. They've taken over old brick schools, an old state hospital, a Masonic Lodge, etc. They turn them into cool hotels that have restaurants and bars all through it.

They are very cool places to go and drink for a night with your friends.

Although built in the 1920s, it still has that New Sanitarium smell.

conniemac

Very interesting - I didn't realise it was the Oregon State Hospital that was used.

Really a shame that a good idea (Victorian-era asylums) became so flawed in the execution. Like chaddsfarkprefect said, so many of the mentally ill are now on the street and without much support.

/The Snake Pit or the heating grate - quite a choice there.
//wish I knew the solution

Ophelia's Snorkel: Hope these people make a sincere and respectful effort at renovation, unlike the bastards that bought Danvers State Insane Asylum and tore it down to build condos.

I remember that, as I work near there in the summers. I didn't know they had actually torn it down, though. That's too bad. I've never actually been right up to it, but I've driven by, and I've seen lots of pictures. I work with a guy who did a production of Carousel there sometime in the '80s. IIRC, the patients actually performed in it. I think of that often when I or somebody else claim about doing low-budget theatre -- "yeah, well I did a show in a mental institution!" He said it was a really creepy place to drive up to.

I did an investigation there for a documentary...let me tell you, creepy as all fark.

Yeay.. It was slated for demolition..
Of course.. It is pretty big.. so I am guessing.. a hotel would be more profitable..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waverly_Hills_Sanatorium

"In March of 1996, Robert Alberhasky bought Waverly Hills and the surrounding area. Alberhasky's Christ the Redeemer Foundation Inc. had plans to construct the world's tallest statue of Jesus on the Waverly site, along with an arts and worship center. The statue, which was inspired by the famed Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, would have been designed by local sculptor Ed Hamilton and architect Jasper Ward.[1]

The first phase of the development, coming in at a cost of $4,000,000, would have been a statue 150 feet tall and 150 feet wide, situated on the roof of the sanatorium. The second phase would convert the old sanatorium into a chapel, theater, and a gift shop at a cost of $8,000,000 or more.[2]

The plan to construct this religious icon fell through because donations to the project fell well short of expectations. In a period of a year, only $3,000 was raised towards the effort despite efforts to pool money from across the nation. The project was cancelled in December 1997.[2]

As a result, Alberhasky abandoned the Waverly Hills property. In order to recoup some of his costs, Alberhasky attempted to have the property condemned so that it could be torn down and redeveloped. That notion was denied by the county, and Alberhasky then attempted to undermine the structural foundations of the building by bulldozing around the southern perimeter in order to receive insurance money.[1]

After Alberhasky's efforts failed, Waverly Hills was sold to current owners Tina and Charlie Mattingly in 2001. Charlie's father, who died in 2005, worked as an orderly at Waverly Hills for approximately four years. The Mattinglys currently hold tours of Waverly Hills and convert the building into a haunted house attraction each Halloween. Proceeds go toward the renovation of the property."

Alberhasky is a douchebag.

Ophelia's Snorkel
Having been to the one in 'bama to photograph it, i just gotta say there isn't much left of it. but i bet you knew this.

It has been done already...

McMenamins Edgefield (pops)

Heh... best part of the article:

"We feel like we're doing something ... that could give back to the community," he said.

First of all, leave it to Kentuckians to call opening a haunted bed and breakfast in a sanatorium "giving back to the community". What the fark kind of community is that? (If that offends any Kentuckians, know that I'm from Indiana, and the Hoosier inside me is just being jealous).

Second -

Charles Mattingly's father, who recently passed away, started working at the tuberculosis hospital when he was 17. The younger Mattingly grew up hearing stories of what a beautiful place Waverly used to be and of the patients who lived out their last years there...

This strikes me as hilarious. His father had fond memories of the 'beautiful place' and 'the patients'. His son is now going to honor his father's memory by painting those same patients as tortured, otherworldy poltergeists. Hah... awesome...

neverming, i meant the abandoned one.

flyboy76: an old state hospital,

oooooops... sorry flyboy76

/it pays to read the comments eh?

Ophelia's Snorkel...Snake Pit or heating grate. Not much of a choice, is it? I'd say that a fair number of street people in my area (Eugene, Oregon) are former mental patients given their behavior. Of course, we also have a fair number that are on the streets because of substance abuse too. We do have a local mission, but if you're drunk or high, they won't take you. When many states decided to close state run mental hospitals, a lot of people were left to their own devices. Some may have ended up in private institutions or in group homes, but a lot were left to wander the streets with no supervision.

An interesting note here: at the time of the release of Cuckoo's Nest, I worked for the Lane County Circuit Court as a county clerk & assistant to the custody (bail) referee. We had an inhouse doctor who had majored in psychiatry & he evaluated inmates when court ordered and then made the recommendation as to whether or not they needed a 30 day observation at Oregon State Hospital. He told me that after seeing Cuckoo's Nest he became more reluctant to recommend observation at the state hospital, except as a last resort.

rick500: Sanatorium != asylum

This place was a sanatorium: a hospital for tuberculosis patients.

QFT because so many people don't seem to get that.

Ok, who is Raven7 and what the hell did he do to piss everyone off?

Whateva_I_DO_WHAT_I_WANT, go back a few days to the Xerox guy obit threads. Read the really long one.

Waverly Hills Tuberculosis Hospital history with photographs. Tour information is given.

The most interesting thing I have discovered about the history of the place is that the world's tallest Jesus statue was once planned for the roof.

"The cost for the first phase, including the statue, would cost $4 million."

"Donations from churches and individuals nationwide were expected to flow in, along with the numerous fundraisers that were expected. On December 12, 1997, however, the plans fell through because of funding issues. Donations totalled just under $3,000 in over a year."

That is the awesomest awesome that has ever awesomed.

Been there, its haunted. Go see for yourself around Halloween. Spend the extra bucks and stay the night, bring clean undies. Louisville is a great town also.

"Amateurs..."

I'd seen the place from a distance (satellite photo), had read the stories and been vaguely interested by the place...until I went there. That tunnel is way too spooky.

I first read the headline as "santorum."

whenIsayGO
Enjoyed your story about your theatre friend. I'm really sorry you won't get to see Danvers again. The developers (reluctantly) agreed to keep the central/Administration section, but if iirc they are converting it for use as retail space, condo club use, etc.

blackomegax
Yeah, with two buildings loosely referred to as 'Bryce' it can get rather confusing. When I visit my grandparents and drive by the gates (of the still-operational one), I still feel all my old childhood phobias creeping up again.

conniemac
You must have seen some interesting cases come through the courthouse. There must be quite a few psychologists like the one you knew who feel like they only have a few, frustrating choices. At least he still cared what happened to those people.

I got to prowl around in the ruins of the Eloise sanitorium before it was razed, when I was pretty little. My mom is into history, and she took me with her to take photos of it (which I don't have -- bummer) -- there were places where you could look right through the holes in the floor 4 stories into the cellars. It was very, very spooky. But cool. :) That's probably part of what spawned my love for the spooky and supernatural. :)

explanation for Raven7

HAHA...

moogoob:

I go to school in a former mental hospital. So I'm getting a kick out of these replies... :p

Click here for more info.


That's right by the Elsinore Brewery, isn't it?

/take off

this place is seriously HUGE and creepy, the cost to renovate will be steep, but if they do it right, the place could be a jewel.

They should turn the body slide (where they dumped corpses to go from the morgue to the trucks outside) into a ride.

Unavailable for comment?

ELEANOR: If you think that sanatorium was scary you should see MT.ST Helens

Back in high school we used to perform midnight revelries at the 'Insane Asylum'... just a half-a-dozen or so decayed buildings in the middle of nowhere. I never really believed that they were an insane asylum, but I may need to revisit my skepticism.

Der Poopflinger

ELEANOR: If you think that sanatorium was scary you should see MT.ST Helens

I see what you did there...

/nice cross-over
//hope this thread isn't too dead for people to notice

Shalebridge Cradle anyone?

Louisville isn't TOO far from me...I'd definately like to check it out. My SO is renovating a 105 yr old synagogue...we like old buildings.

Anyone who guesses where I am here wins a beer. You'll have to make it through the blizzard to claim it, though.

thejollyswagman stole my post.

/Mickey Way the candybar?

and Whatever looks like Meg Ryan.

The Stanley?

MonkeyRodeo We have a winner! What's your brew preference?

Taxvictim Not sure if that's good or bad. Before or after she screwed herself up with plastic surgery?

i LOVE that!! in theory, anyway! How maaaarvellously macaaaarbre!

I often went up to this place when the crazy Jesus statue guy owned it. There were no real guards and the local Valley Station and PRP kids would often go up there to do what kids do.

The place was pretty amazing, and VERY creepy. I went through all portions of it, including the famed "Body Chute". There were literally trees growing on the roof of the main building (5-6 stories up), and many were several inches in diameter. The roots would hang into the floors below making for a very weird feel. You could see much of the city from the rooftop. It was the best place ever to take a break from 'ghost hunting' in order to get baked and make out, lol.

However, in all my time there, I never came across anything resembling supernatural or unnatural activity. I even went deep into the basement, near the area where the upper Body Chute had collapsed, and sat in the dark for several hours one night. Nada. I was pretty open to it, and visited the place in various states of sobriety, but I just never encountered anything unexplainable.

The place is still amazingly cool, but in that time it was as a ruin of civilization. It was like some kind of crazy archeological site. I'm very glad they are saving it, but the ruin had an atmosphere that is impossible to convey in words.

Digitus Impudicus

That level still gives me nightmares. Really.

That was the 1st thing I thought of when I read the article.