This building at one time held the criminally insane on the top floor who were treated with shock therapy. It is also said to be the most haunted for that same reason.

If you look in the rubble there are some pieces that look like the same squares of white tile that were on the walls of the old picture. Still hard to say for sure.

The dial case has Phillips head screws which were invented in the 30s but came into common use after WWII.

The rest of the device has slotted-head screws. It's possible that the screws for the dial case were replaced.

Hard to tell just how old this thing is. I know it's old and there are people who would love to have this. The corrosion around the screws suggests that the dial has been removed and replaced several times. this creates wear of the protective paint around the screws, exposes the bare metal to the elements -- thus the rust around the screws. This, in my opinion, adds to the personality of the piece.

The voltage is DC and the voltmeter reads up to 300. I have no idea what this was for.

The pipes on the right hang so low that a drop ceiling would be just inches above the doorways. That would look funny.

Ferdy is right. After that much time one would not have to worry about TB or any infectious remnants from former patients. The cause for concern in these kids of places would be asbestos, extreme dust, and some types of molds and mildews are toxic to humans. One might also beware of animal carcasses and droppings -- hantavirus.

How's your appetite after seeing that one?

Plastic tape label guns were used from the 50s-70s. I have not seen one in ages. My parents used one to label objects in the house in order to help my little sister learn to read.

I don't think the bench is very old. My guess is 1950s. It appears to be early-American revival from the 50s-60s era, made of maple, and had semi-hard cushions on it. It looks like the finish has worn off but a light sanding and a refinish would make this as good as new.

Polio comes to mind. Fortunately we have eradicated that horrible disease from the earth.

What if the telephone is on fire?

They look like a musical group -- Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it for...

The Rusty Bed-Frames!

CLAP CLAP CLAP!!!!

Just the word alone is creepy -- gurney. Gurr-neee -- yuck, a 'gurney' sounds like something that nobody would ever want to go near.

It's not unlikely that the hospital clothes for both staff and patients may have been made on the premises at one time. The size of the thread spool-holders and the machines are for industrial, high-volume manufacture. It's possible that they are not rusted beyond use. Those things were made to be almost indestructible and built to last indefinitely.

If you were to disassemble one and clean every part of it, soak the parts in machine oil, replace a part or two, repaint and add a reproduction Singer decal (yes, they are available) -- you would likely have a nice-looking and usable machine. If you want to go through all that, you may have a $500 item at the end but still, all the work and cost of supplies, you'd be lucky to pull $3/hour.

I don't see any electrical cords -- my guess is treadle power.

This sort of shower was not only for hospital patients but also a fancy version of these were a luxury item in mansions for a very enjoyable shower -- yes, like a stand-up jacuzzi.

Who wants to see me lift that thing and throw it through the window?

Why is it that the clown that are intended to be very un-scary have the creepiest effect?

The chairs are a Luther Conover design from the 1950s. They are made of fiberglass. The chairs are probably different colors just because different colors were available. These were manufactured in the whole rainbow of colors as well as black and white to match any decor.

I think those are records on the floor too. But there are small like 45s except they don't have the large center hole. They may be 7" LPs, or 7" vinyl 78s. The one is warped in a way that suggests it is vinyl. There were vinyl 16-RPM discs made for Muzak machines in the late 50s-early 60s -- possible.

Purple chair,
purple chair.

I only want to see you sitting in the purple chair.

The painting and the American Eagle decal on the piano are not original to the piece. That is a style known as "antiquing" which became popular in the late 50s-70s. A base coat of light beige was used and then the darker streaks were brushed on lightly over top of that. It was intended to resemble old Pennsylvania Dutch, Shaker, Early American painted furniture that was done usually with milk-paint (home-made paint made from milk or other protein-base substances) and the old furniture often has a streaked look that was mimicked in this piano. The decal was added after the paint was dry and maybe varnished over. A couple of the stars are missing.

The piano looks like an early 20th-century upright. Before it was antiqued it likely had a mahogany, walnut, or quarter-sawn oak veneer. The uneven level of the keys indicates that there are broken hammers and levers and the whole action is likely frozen.

This has been consistently well-maintained and kept clean-clean-clean for a long time. We know that it must have seen some heavy use, the edge of the tub has been chipped off and the iron below the porcelain is exposed. The shine on the chrome is amazing. This could be used as an advertisement for whatever they used to clean it with.

The Changeling, starring George C. Scott, 1979. One of the scariest movies ever made. To this day I can't look at an antique wheel chair without thinking of that movie.

I was exploring a junk yard in the 70s. It was just after all the stores had switched from these mechanical cash registers to the electronic kind. There several were small mountains of these machines waiting to be scrapped. I did take pictures but i have no idea what happened to them. Possible my parents may still have them.

They still used these types of duplicating machines when I was in grade school -- before xerox copiers were common. If the teacher made the copies just before class the papers would be cold and slightly damp. The ink was blue and sometimes a bit smudged -- a little blurry but still readable.

I'm sure that some of the information in this would still be relevant.