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.

Photo: "Violent Ward Doors"

 

Female violent wards at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris Plains, NJ.

 

The Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital completely shut down a few years ago, but many of the outer portions of the wings, such as the female violent wards, have been in-operational since the 1970's.

Sadly, this hospital is currently on the list for demolition and is scheduled to be torn down sometime this year.

(Follow the 'Preserve Greystone' Facebook Page to stay updated  - https://www.facebook.com/preservegreystone )

Photo: "Memories of Four"

 

Painting in the female violent ward

 

Four years ago, I had the opportunity to shoot the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey. I spent a mere few hours wandering the halls, feeling incredible rushed and unable to cure the longing in my heart for seeing the whole complex and spending countless minutes staring and photographing every detail of the asylum. 

When I returned home from that trip, I discovered about 30 of the less than 100 images I had taken, were missing off the memory card; I was devastated. 

Earlier this month, I had a chance to return and the asylum was as glorious as I remembered. Unfortunately, there is a lot more graffiti and destruction from the people who have set foot inside the walls since, but the natural decay was just as beautiful as I remembered. 

I saw this painting, in the female violent ward, four years ago. It was one of the images I lost and when I stumbled upon it again, I remembered exactly how it felt to stand in front of it and take a photo years ago. 

Photo: "Patient Ward Kitchen"

Kitchen inside the Wingdale patient wards at the former Harlem State Hospital in New York. 

The former Harlem State Hospital property was recently purchased by a religious university and state of New York caught the new owners performing illegal abatement on many buildings in November 2013 and put a hold on the construction process but not before this beautiful building was stripped. This kitchen is one of the few rooms in the building that was still in tact.