Yes, I was hoping to shoot Pripyat and Kiev this year but funds ran dry for an overseas trip.

Hm, tough to find a comparative image. I think my head reached the top of the words stamped into the housing. Here's a similar looking one with a human scale reference:
http://spiff.rit.edu/c...agara/niagara_2a.gif

The one in the illustration might be a bit larger than the ones in this plant though.

If the bottom hatches are open, I don't think it would float even if the water rose that much.

Also (on an interesting note), if there was extra flow it might get used by the other stations; there are a few other hydroelectric intakes upriver, which draw in as much water as possible to produce maximum power. They are able to take in so much water that the falls are visually impacted - so a treaty was agreed upon to keep a minimum of 50,000 cubic feet per second flowing at the falls for tourism purposes.

The water flow is kept at the minimum during the winter months, and every night in the summer. The stations reduce intake on summer days solely for tourism, letting 100,000 cubic feet of water to flow over the falls. The water below the falls fluctuates 3 feet during each transition.

http://www.niagarafron...com/power.html#Facts

Hi blackjack, unfortunately I do not have this newspaper clipping and so I can only glean whatever information I can get access to when researching the histories of these places. As we all know the newspapers don't always print the whole truth. I have updated the page in question, and hope it will suffice. Thank you.

I think it's pipe insulation.

Thank you; I find these places through a number of channels, including historical research (old maps, documents, etc), word of mouth, current news, and other documented explorations posted online. Some are found by accident as well - perhaps looking at an aerial photo of a city, or just driving around.

Definitely a factor to consider - I'm sure the "incurable" wards looked a lot different, even in the heyday of the asylum era.

Many reasons for admission were quite different compared to today's standards as well (alcoholism, depression, epilepsy, political / religious excitement, recommendation by husband, uncontrollable fits of laughter, etc).

True; I was looking at it from a historical perspective - the original purpose of the room, which was probably a single bedroom given the dimensions and observation window.

I think that it was probably converted into an office at some point, given the low hanging ceiling light and exposed electrical outlet and conduit.

Thanks; it is a baffling decision to tear down the clock tower. This structure and even the old wing that were standing were in decent shape - seemed like prime candidates for preservation to me.

When they hauled away the fire damaged parts of the Kirkbride building in the 1990s, the gaping holes that led to the other parts of the building were carefully paved with original stone, and it all looked pretty damn good. I mean it didn't look like the typical "abandoned eyesore" that most people despise. I really thought these remnants would be around for a long time... I guess that stone work was all for naught.

I think they are attendants; they were usually dressed all in white.

I don't think I've stepped on anything larger than a pigeon...

Thanks for catching that bobgoulet!

The rest of the hospital is still in use and quite busy; it would be difficult to work on getting those off without someone noticing, or a police car cruising past... otherwise I'm sure they'd be long gone.

I think it's a stack of brown paper towels.

Thanks - all copper gutters and flashing.

Asbestos and lead danger.

Thanks, no the Kirkbride was demolished in the 1960s.

Unfortunately I don't get much time to really read up on the history of these places beforehand, so the matching up is usually just a matter of luck.

Someone did a really amazing before and after series in Detroit's Cass Tech, but I can't find the link...

No they looked like financial data printouts.

No it was quite mummified.

I had no idea about that album cover, funny! Wonder who shot it.

I think latex and oil based paint peel differently.

Yes Quaaludes are a barbiturate; I'm guessing it's a twist on the already wry humor (preparing one's self for leaving the staff area and entering the wards).

I think it's a bed frame. There were also "safety" beds stacked in one of these rooms, which are just molded blocks of plastic which are difficult to hurt oneself with.

The rest of the building; this day room was at the end of the wing.

The floors were solid concrete.

I believe the historic photograph was taken after the veterans had moved out and the men's wing was completed, so they should be regular psychiatric patients.

Things looked very different during the early years of psychiatric care in the U.S.; take a look at this patient room for instance. Voluntary admission was quite common, and these patients paid money to be treated at what were top-notch hospitals for the insane. Everything went downhill due to a number of factors, including the lack of funding, public stigma, and overcrowding. The book Death of the Asylum analyzes this process in detail.