Photo: "Essex Cell Block"

 
 

The Essex County Jail in New Jersey was constructed in 1837 and designed by architect John Haviland, who also designed Eastern State Penitentiary. 

The building served as the primary jail until 1970, when a new facility was constructed. 

Most of the structures on the property were badly damaged during a fire in 2001, but many of the cell blocks were still in tact. 

Photo: "Antenna Terminal"

This tunnel, leading away from the launch silos, leads towards the  antenna terminals for the Titan I ICBM base. At the end of the junction are two 65 foot tall cylindrical structures that once contained the inflatable radome, responsible for tracking and guidance, for the underground site.

Photo: "Basking Rays"

Front facing office in the Administration Building of the Hudson River Psychiatric Hospital in New York

The wings of the Hudson River Psychiatric Hospital in New York have decayed and collapsed beyond compare over the last few decades, due to weather and a lightning fire, since the asylum was abandoned, but the roof of the Administration Building was properly covered when vacated, which has left that section of the Kirkbride building in tact.

Photo: "Admin Building, Hudson River Psychiatric"

I have wandered the lonely collapsed halls of the former Hudson River Psychiatric Hospital many times, but until last month, I had never seen the Administration Building from this perspective. Standing in front of this historic grand architecture watching the moon rise was really magical.

This gorgeous building was completed in 1871, on a piece of land along the river in Poughkeepsie, New York. Most Kirkbride buildings were constructed with symmetrical wings, but this hospital was not, because there was an expectation that more male patients would be submitted than female. 

The campus operated for over one hundred years before closing in 2003. The campus not sits abandoned, mostly collapsed from years of neglect and a major fire in the male wing in 2007. 

Photo: Titan Tunnels Are Peace

Tunnel Junction, Launch Equipment Terminal - Beale 851-C Missile Base, Chico

It's hard to describe the feeling I had when I took my first breath of the stale air inside the Titan Missile Silo. It brought back many memories of other locations that smelled very similar; stale, damp and toxic.

For the rest of the 8 hour shoot, I wore a respirator, which drove me crazy, but in the end it didn't matter because there's something so peaceful and relaxing about wandering around places like this, which I'm sure that seems so strange to most of you. This location in particular was a place that was saturated with war, a location that terrorized many, but when I was here, it was a place of peace.

What is your happy place?

Photo: Female Violent Ward Collapse

Female violent wards, Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital - New Jersey

When the outer wings of Greystone Park Psychiatric closed in the 1970's, a plan to protect the roof was never implemented and after experiencing many years of extreme East Coast weather, the decay has become dangerous.

The hospital completely shut down in 2008 after a new hospital was constructed behind the original campus. Sadly, this beautiful historic stone building is slated for demolition later this year.

Photo: "Baffles"

Sound baffles were installed on the ceiling of the underground power station of a former Titan I ICBM base to help prevent the loud sounds of the machinery from reverberating due to the circular ceiling. 

Photo: "Little Boxes"

 

Storage closet in the female wards at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey.

Over the last few decades much of this hospital has been collapsing due to weather and lack of upkeep. The Administration section of the asylum was the most recently abandoned portion, vacated less than 10 years ago, due to the construction of a new Greystone behind the current decaying building.

Unfortunately, this building is in danger of demolition and will likely be nothing more than a piece of forgotten history by the end of 2014.

 

Photo: "Three Floors & An Armoire"

The collapse in the female wings of Hudson River State Hospital is extensive. When the hospital shut down, no efforts were made to cover the roof of the wings and the weather eventually began to take it's toll on this beautiful Kirkbride Building.

This image shows a storage closet on the second floor with a collapsed ceiling and floor, which allows us to see the identical storage closet on the first floor and possibly a patient or nurses room on the 3rd floor with a beautiful armoire.