Comments
Unknown Objects

Bill

Mattress sterilizers?

Location: Norwich State Hospital  Gallery: Lockdown

Cramped

Bill

The bed looks wider than than a regular hospital cot. The lyrics "Sleepin' single in a double bed" come to mind.

Location: Norwich State Hospital  Gallery: Lockdown

Pause

Bill

These remind me of the equipment cages at my college field house. Is it possible these rooms were used to store the personal property of the patients?

Location: Norwich State Hospital  Gallery: Lockdown

In The Freezer

bill

great place too store beer

Location: Haverford State Hospital  Gallery: SSDD

Scene Missing

Bill

I enlarged the picture. It seems that what looks like a door knob is just peeling paint.

Location: Verden Psychiatric Hospital  Gallery: Uncovering the Past

Toilet

Bill

Darn, I totally beleived Lisa Simpson when she explained this to Bart. I guess I'll have to go farther afield for my scientific education!

Location: Fuller State School and Hospital  Gallery: Disturbed

Scene Missing

Bill

I love those doors and the unblocked transoms. This hallway appears to not have been renovated since the original construction. The doors seem too widely spaced to be single patient rooms. Were they dorms?

Location: Verden Psychiatric Hospital  Gallery: Uncovering the Past

Equipment List

Bill

I think it shows the lengths the hospital went to in order to care for the patients. Most doctor's offices and clinics don't have this much emergency equipment.

Location: Kings Park Psychiatric Center  Gallery: Buildings 39, 138, 139

Attic

Bill

No, I'm the REAL Bill. Shoot HIM!

Location: Kings Park Psychiatric Center  Gallery: The Quad

Above The Turbines, Right

Bill

One large red bag on the way!

Location: Eagle River Power Station  Gallery: Corrosive Industry

Medical Supply Cabinet

Bill

N/G tubes are also used to relieve abdominal distention secondary to use of a Bag Valve Mask
(Ambu Bag). I'm glad they're disposable, I hate to think having a used one stuck into my nose!

Location: Clairvaux Tuberculosis Hospital  Gallery: Restraints

Hoop

Bill

I wrote a paper for 7th grade english (1969) about how bricked over windows were neat because of the story each one told. My teacher simply could not grasp what I was thinking of. I guess she wouldn't understand this site either.*

*I know there are many fine and dedicated teachers in the public school system. This narrow minded asshat just wasn't one of them.

Location: York Street Jail  Gallery: The Big House

Stretcher

Bill

It would have been tough to use as a stretcher without handles. I think Verizoff is correct.

Location: Danvers State Hospital  Gallery: Dreary Skies

Operating Room

Bill

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet:
Good information and pictures on lobotomies at NPR.org.

Location: Linton State Hospital  Gallery: Deep Breaths

Lone Chair

Bill

Workshop is my guess. The overhead wiring was less expensive, and made it easier for the foreman to see that no one left a soldering iron plugged in at the end of the day.

Location: Fuller State School and Hospital  Gallery: Disturbed

Attic

Bill

Help. My name's been hijacked! Although this does look a little like my attic.

The real Bill

Location: Kings Park Psychiatric Center  Gallery: The Quad

Attic

Bill

Reminds me of my last apartment. This place is a little nicer.

Location: Kings Park Psychiatric Center  Gallery: The Quad

Hydrotherapy Tub

Bill

Great pics Lynne. Got my laugh for the day. One technical question: What's the reason for the odd shape of the tub?

Location: Letchworth Village  Gallery: Visiting Hours

Big Doors

Bill

They are a holdover from the days of horse drawn waggons. Brand new fire houses still have them, although they really don't serve any purpose anymore. "200 years of tradition unimpeded by progress"

Location: York Street Jail  Gallery: The Big House

Dish Washer Side

Bill

Just looking at this, I can smell a thousand half eaten meals being steamed off metal trays.

Location: Kings Park Psychiatric Center  Gallery: Buildings 39, 138, 139

Circular Window

Bill

This must have been Bilbo Baggins' room.

Location: Kings Park Psychiatric Center  Gallery: Buildings 136 & 137 (Medical-Surgical)

Green Hall

Bill

Aren't the knobs on the doors to the left unusually high off the floor? The one on the right appears to be at the normal height.

Location: Kings Park Psychiatric Center  Gallery: The Quad

Chamber

Bill

I'm pretty sure they weren't doing surgery in the washroom.

Location: Foxboro State Hospital  Gallery: Transitions

Chair

Bill

The people that view these facilities as "Houses Of Evil" should research the conditions that led to them being established. Prior to Medicare and Medicaid (mid 1960s) a family with a MR/DD child could be wiped out financially by the cost of caring for the child. Add that to the social stigma of having "tainted genes" in the family tree, some people chose to sacrifice the one to save the many. These children were hidden away in attics and closets or worse. The establishment of hospitals and schools for them was the work of high minded people trying to provide a safe and caring environment.

Thanks for the use of your soapbox Lynne.

Location: Danvers State Hospital  Gallery: Tiptoe

Object

Bill

The problem isn't keeping them clean. It's keeping them from tipping over before we get to the ER. If I have a little warning, I give the patient a large red bag and let them barf away. Then I tie a knot in the top. Then when the ER staff wants to see the emesis I hand them the bag!

Location: Clairvaux Tuberculosis Hospital  Gallery: August Haze