Photo: "Solitary Confinement Cells"

Weston State Hospital operated from 1864 to 1994 in Weston, West Virginia and is recognized as the largest hand-cut masonry building in North America. This Kirkbride was originally designed to house 250 patients, but by the 1950's patient count reached 2,400. Corridors and day rooms became home to patient beds and the conditions were very poor. The hospital closed its doors in 1994 due to changes in the treatment of the mentally ill. 

Photo: "A Little Variety"

Over the past month or two, I've been trying to add variety to my postings here, showing not only the forgotten world, but also scenes from San Francisco and my travels.

In a few weeks my stream will be flooded with photos of abandoned buildings again because next Thursday, I embark on a week long road trip on the other side of the country, shooting hospitals and industrial sites.

As many of you know, documenting modern ruins has been my first love since I started seriously pursuing photography almost 5 years ago, so it's exciting to think about sharing dozens of new images from these locations with you upon my return.

For now, here's a photo, taken last month during the full moonrise, of another subject I have really enjoyed shooting recently.

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Photo: "Large Trees In A Tiny World"

​This ranch was founded by an Italian settler and dates back to the late 1800's. The original buildings included a small six room house and a single horse barn. In the early 1900's, the house was expanded to fourteen rooms, the barn was also expanded and a blacksmith shop was constructed. It eventually became the one of the largest ranch in the areal in terms of livestock and produce. 

The owner and founder died in 1933 and by the 1940's most of the ancestors had left. The ranch now belongs to the Forest Service. 

Photo: "Guarded"

Last night, I found an old iPhone image (http://instagram.com/p/YG7fXeNy3H/) of this beautiful asylum's exterior lost in fog. It got me thinking about the DSLR images I took at this location and I couldn't remember publishing many, so I went back through the set and found a few I liked.  

This is a secure entrance to the Forensic Building at Weston State Hospital. This building housed the criminally insane, patients who may have been deemed "not guilty by reason of insanity." 

Photo: "Magazine Storage"

At the Southern tip of the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard groupings of former magazine buildings still remain today even though the shipyard has been decommissioned for nearly 20 years. These buildings once stored a variety of ammunition for land and sea weaponry. 

I've been told the walls of these buildings were constructed of concrete and the roofs of a metal material, so that during an accidental explosion, the blast would move vertically instead of horizontally.