Photo: "Theatre/Gymnasium"

I've been spending a lot of time sorting through images for the website re-design and when I stumbled upon this one last night, I wanted to share it. It's not the most beautiful or technical photograph, but it serves as a great historical photograph of this space just prior to demolition. 

When I had the chance to photograph the location early last year, the demolition process was already underway. In the theatre, many seats had been removed and shoved against the walls and plastic was covering the doorways. 

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Photo: "Clinical Operating Room"

Western State Hospital in Tennessee, also known as West Tennessee Hospital for the Insane, opened it's doors in 1889, admitting patients on November 22nd into the Kirkbride Building. For over 30 years, this one building provided adequate space for the number of patients admitted, however, overcrowding resulted in the need for an additional Psychopathic Hospital. In 1932, the four story Polk Building (shown here) was erected as a new residency for 400 patients.

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Photo: "Back to the Morgue"

I had the opportunity to revisit the Marine Hospital on a recent trip and I knew I wanted to spend some time in the beautiful morgue again, in an attempt to get a more refined shot. 

For the image below, I used one 125w LED panel to light the entire space. First, I set the panel inside the hood, aimed it upward, over the table and left it for a minute and a half on a low setting. Then I removed the light, placed it on the ground off-camera to the left and bounced it off the ceiling for another minute and a half at full power. 

Photo: "Light Checkered Dayroom"

Central State Hospital was once the largest psychiatric facility located in Georgia, within the boundaries of the former state capital. The asylum accepted its first patient in 1842, but overcrowding quickly plagued the hospital.

In 1884, this building was constructed to cope with the expanding patient population and housed white, male convalescent patients. 

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Photo: "Railroad Avenue"

The Mare Island Naval Shipyard contains several hundred buildings and other structures, all erected at various times throughout the 120-year operation and constructed in a variety of architectural styles. Among these structures are the Naval Weapons Station, Marine Barracks, Nuclear Power School and Combat Systems Technical Schools Command, Hospital and Power Plant. 

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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.