when I worked here it was a Chapel, the gym was across the street in the administration building. underground the Chapel was a 2 lane bowling alley along with storage rooms. these rooms contained ballroom gowns from long ago. this campus was a nice place to work - lots of times the "scary" noises were the patients hallucinating. it was not a horrible place when I worked there. in inclement weather the tunnels were used to get to the other side of campus. this is a great picture, it brings back many memories.

This building was originally the house the Sheriff and his family lived in once they were elected as Sheriff. Trustees from the Jail were allowed into the house daily to clean. Later Sheriff's lived off site and used this building for a Pre-Release Center then administrative offices. Mott's thank you so much for the pictures, cameras for the most part were never allowed into the institution so pictures are rare. It has been over 15 years since I have seen the inside and your pictures have jogged my memory of both good and bad times.

This picture is the Columbus Ave. side of the Main Block, the stair railing in the lower left was the stairs from six tier that led to the library. The screening on the two upper tiers was added in the early 80's after several close calls of both staff and inmates almost rolling off the tiers during disturbances.

Outside recreation was held in this yard minus all the vegetation. Basketball, weights, handball, and sometimes softball was also played. Guards sat on benches on both ends of the yard to supervise and respond to fights. One officer was in the tower with a shotgun and another walked the railroad tracks outside the back wall with a shotgun whenever yard was held.

This was what was called the "barbershop". It was opened in the morning to allow for clean up and shaving.

Used as dining hall for meals and recreation hall for evenings and weekends. Sat down there for years monitoring 140+ inmates at any one time with about 5 officers. Two TVs in the kitchen plus a couple of pay phones mounted on wall. Very noisy and when trouble started you had to act quickly before it got totally out of hand.

This was the North Gate, you passed through two sets of these doors and you were on York St. The Yard Master was responsible for this door. Some deliveries were made to the kitchen and supply areas through here.

This was the yard entrance to the kitchen, garbage barrels keep there until removed by yard crews. Always a popular stop for rodents.

This was the West Block, higher security inmates were housed in this block. If my memory is correct I believe there were 56 cells in this block, 7 cells per tier x 8 tiers.

These bars allowed you to walk the tier and unlock each door with a key, the cell doors could not be opened until you went to the end of the tier and pulled this bar. This was the way the inmates in the blocks were let out for feeding, recreation, etc.

This picture is taken standing on the landing in the main block looking out into the rotunda. The door on the far wall is the front cage that leads out to York St.
Thanks for the great pictures, a true piece of history is being destroyed.

Very loud and the smell was very bad in the hot weather on the upper tiers.

This is a shot of the "Rotunda" where the visits occurred and some administrative offices were located. It was also used as the booking area for years until a new intake area was built in the basement below this area.

I worked on these grounds when it was for the mentally challenged people. It was a BEAUTIFUL place! There was a bowling alley underground (2 lanes). There was also a cafe', great hall (ballroom) we used as a gym, the church for Sunday services. During inclement weather we used the tunnel to get across Chestnut St. Romms off the tunnel had beautiful ball gowns from years gone by. Across the street there was a building "Dexter Bldg." also. We had our own greenhouse in which the clients used. The screams heard were usually the clients with behaviors, everyone spoke of the "ghosts" walking the halls: generally late night. At one time the Patriots practiced behind these buildings & always let the staff & clients watch. Even though it appeared scary & forbidden to the outsider I would not in a million years trade my time there. I miss the Foxboro campus.

Hi, The Other Lynn
get a ggod disinfectant, put it in a spray bottle. spray the tub generously & scrub with a toilet brush ( used only for this of course), then rinse in hot water. if needed fill the tub & soak in a cleaning solution, chair submerged to ensure the underside gets sanitized. these are great tubs to use once your familiar with them. in these tubs the chair 's seatbelt goes between the legs & around the waist - think of a car seat style. I personally prefer this over giving a shower to someone . less stress on your back & shoulders. I do love this tub.

Lynne, I LOVE that you provide an insight to this past. too many people don't understand that at the time this was the way to care for the less fortunate people - not because we wanted to " lock them away " but because no one really understood then what we know now. Thank You!

a great whirlpool tub. we have these where I work - the seat has a "seat belt " so no one falls out. ours is probably near 100 yrs. old but is used on a daily basis. now there are cleaners in spray bottles which help make cleaning easier. a truly fantastic tub

the sink on the wall is for cleaning bed pans. you put the bed pan in it & flushed - the water was extremely hot to sterilize it & the bed pan was clean for the next use.

the institution I worked at had a morgue only obtainable by the underground tunnels.