(I have an even better Danvers State tunnel video on my channel as well. Lovecraft's novel, Arkham Sanitarium , and Batman's Arkham . The hospital closed in 1976 and the building became the North Central Correctional Institute at Gardner in 1981. One of the unique things about this facility is the underground tunnels that connect all the buildings. The main building consisted of a series of residential wards in an L shape, with an administrative building in the center. According to reports, the movies filming was only carried out in a small section of the hospital and almost all the props featured in the movie were already available on the location. 1902 - one story brick Surgery Building with hipped roof and segmental arched windows to the front The building remains abandoned but is still standing. During the 1800s, the hill was the home of the Dodge farm, owned by local farmer and Civil War veteran Francis Dodge. However, its reputation remains. Hathorne Hill in Danvers, Massachusetts harbors a beautiful Kirkbride building with its gothic-style spires and red brick construction. Sources:Kirkbride, Thomas Story. thats all i have to say about it except my god rest all the souls that where their. In 1968, NBC10 aired a documentary about Pennhurst. it took my aunt 2 weeks to get her out of that place. 84002436 Added to NRHP January 26, 1984 Like so many asylums, Forest Haven quickly became overcrowded and understaffed. The Administration Block, in the original Kirkbride, building closed in 1989. im happy to pay for the reproduction of some or all depending on cost. Indie Horror Month 2021: SESSION 9 - Daily Dead Lewis & co, 1888First Annual Report of the Trustees of State Lunatic Hospital at Danvers, 1879Trask, Richard B. Danvers: From 1850 to 1899. The Grafton State Hospital was built in 1901. Infamous, haunting, beautiful, a memory ~ Snuck in myself in 2003 he he he. After further investigation, the family pursued a lawsuit against the state for mistreatment towards their daughter. Gothic spires rose from eight wings that radiated from a 130 foot central tower. The Danvers State Hospital remained abandoned for 13 years as it continued to fall into disrepair. Similarly, Hank (Josh Lucas) uncovers a treasure trove of . I always dreaded theese visits. Incorporated in 1884, the Westborough State Hospital was originally known as the Westborough Insane Hospital. The dark history behind this former insane asylum in Massachusetts will give you chills. Thats so sad, Brenda! On June 24, 1992, the last patients were transferred to Tewksbury State Hospital and the Danvers State Hospital was officially closed. Danvers was built in the mid-1800s and operated until 1992. Share Patients unable to bathe themselves would be left in their own fecal matter for days on end. It was short lived though. This hospital, for the last several years, has received nearly (1,000) new admissions per annum, which is altogether too large a load considering space, personnel, and the close attention that the newly-admitted patient requires. Danvers State Hospital Kirkbride Complex circa 1893. Yesterdays Grim Asylums, Tomorrows Grand Apartments. Wall Street Journal, 27 July. My brother and I drove up there a few years ago we were curious about the new apartments the apartment building reflect the architecture but neither of us have any desire to live there. Designed in 1874 by noted Boston architect, N.J. Bradlee, it is a handsome and intact implementation of the nationally recognized Kirkbride plan. Over the next 20 years, the population of the hospital swelled to more than 2,000 patients despite its official capacity of 450. For more information on the history of Danvers State Hospital, check out this website. By 1945, the Grafton State Hospital had 1,730 patients and 250 staff and a sprawling property with numerous buildings. It was supposed to be a self-sufficient place for mentally ill patients to live and thrive. Patients were put into solitary confinement and put into restraints. Danvers State Hospital was famous for many things such as its design, treatment of patients and legends surrounding the site. Basement 'Tunnel' prev | next Danvers State Hospital Page. 2156. e1savage (Atlas Obscura User) Danvers State Hospital opened in 1878 as a mental health hospital, serving some 600 patients under its imposing gothic spires. To this day people will find teeth laying about throughout the building. She was put into restraints, which re-traumatized her. Watch. Patients would be locked in cages if the staff considered them to be unruly. Experimental lobotomies were performed on patients by the traveling Dr. Walter Freeman. Some of the abuses that were done by the staff were teeth extraction, sexual abuse, beatings with baseball bats, belts, and switches. As a result, these hospitals were eventually closed down and abandoned. Danvers State Hospital was a psychiatric hospital in Danvers, Massachusetts, USA and opened in 1878 at a cost of $1.5 million. There was a tunnel that ran from a steam/power generating plant (which still exists to provide service to the Hogan Regional Center) located at the bottom of the hill running up to the hospital, along with tunnels that connected the male and female nurses homes, the "Gray Gables", Bonner Medical Building, machine shops, pump house, and a few others. For more information on Forest Haven Asylum, check out this website. Built 1871 Architect Nathaniel Jeremiah Bradlee Architectural style Gothic NRHP reference No. in journalism. Under the plan, the remaining patients at Danvers State Hospital were to be moved to Tewksbury Hospital, which had about 200 empty beds. i work @ a nursing home in danvers and would have to drive by danver state hosiptal to get home i would wonder why it was still standing at the time . Even in death, administrators at Danvers State Hospital did not dignify their patients. The hospital featured a main building, where the administration offices were located, with four wings radiating off both sides of the structure. In 1905, infirmary wings were added to both sides of the building and later additions were also added until the hospital became a maze of hallways and buildings. The following is a list of these abandoned mental hospitals in Massachusetts: Address: 1101 Kirkbride Dr, Danvers, Mass. By 1900, Danvers State Hospital employed 125 people and had treated more than 9,500 patients since opening. Medical science saw lobotomies as a cure for anyones insanity, and as a way to stop the deaths. Richard Trask of the Danvers Archival Center wrote, concerning the state's failure to preserve the Kirkbride complex, noting: The failure to protect and adaptively reuse this grand exterior is a monumental blot in the annals of Massachusetts preservation. I could tell it . It was created by Bill Baldini and called Suffer the Little Children. People across the nation were outraged after viewing this documentary.