Ten years ago, I photographed the abandoned Norwich State Hospital in Connecticut. At the time, the property was over one hundred years old. Five years after that first visit, this historic property, that once housed over 3,000 patients, was demolished.
Photo: "Employee Sink"
I haven't had much time to focus on posting images over the last few weeks, but hopefully that will change soon. In the meantime, I've been sorting through my archives and have stumbled upon some new images I hope to post over the next few weeks.
Here's an image, taken in 2010, of a sink inside an employee dormitory, known as Norwalk Hall, at a former Connecticut Asylum.
(Print - http://smu.gs/IPnkvL )
Photo: "Tub"
Patient therapy tub in a Connecticut Psychiatric Facility.
Photo: "Exit Squared"
Corridor near upstairs doctor living quarters in Lippitt Building, former psychopathology building,at Norwich State Hospital, Connecticut.
Photo: "Outlet"
Electrical outlet in the Earle building at Norwich State Hospital, Connecticut.
Photo: "Patched"
Bathroom inside the Lippitt building at Norwich State Hospital.
The Lippitt building, a colonial revival style building at Norwich State Hospital, was designed as a psychopathic facility in 1920. It played a big role in the history of the treatment of the mentally ill as it was built a few years after the first facility of its kind. The facility provided medical treatments for mental and physical disorders. Lippitt was equipped with x-ray, hydrotherapy and surgical technology and even frequently performed lobotomies. The building was likely named after Costello Lippitt who was once the mayor of Norwich, Connecticut and the president of the hospital's Board of Trustees.
Photo: "Batons & Catwalks"
Backstage in the catwalks of Noble Hall, an early 1900's era theatre in Connecticut, the batons are tied off with decaying rope.
Photo: "Shelton House"
Moon rise at dusk over the Shelton House, building used for administrative and patient care, at a Connecticut psychiatric hospital, designed in the Colonial Revival style by Walter P. Crabtree. The hospital operated from 1931 until 1995 and at its peak, housed over 4,000 patients.
Photo: "Marches"
Sheet music left backstage in Noble Hall, a Connecticut psychiatric hospital theatre.
Photo: "Dominos"
Norwalk Hall was a male staff and Psychiatric Aid residence at a Connecticut State Hospital. Each room on the lower floors of the Hall were approximately 8ft x 10ft and contained a bed, rocking chair, desk, lockable closet, dresser, mirror and sink. The third floor rooms were much harder to come by and were reserved for the veteran staff.
Photo: "Stoop"
Norwich State Hospital was established as a psychiatric hospital in 1904 in Preston Connecticut. It was the second public mental asylum for the state and opened with only 95 patients. Within a few years, the need for more buildings grew. The campus continued to grow and eventually contained 30+ buildings.
Photo: "Trapped"
Porch. Brigham building, Norwich State Hospital.
Photo: "Ducts"
Daylight streams into the attic of the Earle building, Norwich State Hospital.
Photo: "Drought"
Canaan House, patient ward in an East Coast State Hospital.
Photo: "Seaside Sanatorium"
Doctor and nurses quarters.
The Seaside Sanatorium in Waterford, Connecticut opened in 1930 as a tuberculosis hospital for children. The location was chosen based on the thought that the fresh air of the Long Island Sound would help ail the suffering children. In 1958, the hospital began treating the elderly who were mentally handicapped. In the 1970's, there was evidence that those hospitalized at Seaside were being abused by the staff causing a higher death rate among the patients. Due to those allegations, the hospital closed in 1996.