They wouldn't seem too wide if you were on staff there.

The lead paint, unlike asbestos, ain't gonna hurt you unless you eat it. Just wash up good after handling it. Not good to powersand and get into the air where you'll breathe it either.

The crown looks to be made of copper to me.

I'm sure it was a multi-purpose field or ended up one. I mean, if the dude is right about them even having car races here. That outer circle of dirt is a track, so they had track and field. Baseball, softball, track, football-I'm sure this old place has seen it all. I'm sure it's hainted.

Straight out of "Session 9". hehehehhe

I neglected to say that Mesothelioma or Asbestosis comes from inhaling or otherwise ingesting asbestos particles.

Yes, it is not cumulative. One particle can start the cancer that will eventually kill you. The older the asbestos gets, the more it degrades. Its danger is directly related to how much it can and has degraded. This is called "friability" as Motts alluded. Basically the hard asbestos such as that found in siding or floor tiles is not as dangerous as that found in soft ceiling tiles and the wraps around old pipes. The old lath and plaster construction and some drywall will have a certain percentage asbestos also. These places are extremely dangerous. One can't assume that since thousands of people once worked and lived here and didn't get cancer that you won't get cancer. The asbestos was new then and was not degraded. Now it is old and the friable stuff is very degraded in many locations. The more exposure to the elements it receives, the more degraded it usually is. Steer clear or at least research and heed that research as Motts says.

Indeed, you can say "biohazard"...and you'd be accurate.

Cancer research eh? I don't want anything to do with those tubes. Ever see "The Omega Man"?

I could clean that room pretty quick with a shop vac.

The ownership of the files is what is in play. Who or what entity actually "owns" the files? The hospital itself owns them so where do you take them? The files that are still in use are transferred with patients and any file left is a copy and not needed-so it is property of the hospital. Doctors make copies of files for themselves as needed or wanted and they are taken with them to their own practices or home offices as the case may be OR they are abandoned too along with the hospital/institution files. Basically confidentiality of files such as these just depends on how much power you've got. Anything can be for your eyes if you have enough money or pull. You can see for yourself how confidentiality is treated. lol~sarcastic

BOO! y'all...

Trying to turn anything in to the police is likely to get you a fine or even a jail sentence. Motts, I really would black out the names on those pics for both the sake of the patients' privacy and also for your own sake legally.

The records are kept under tight security, especially from those who would most benefit from them (family members) while an institution is operational. I've seen pic after pic of highly confidential files just left out in the open when the buildings are abandoned. There are a number of reasons for this. The worst part though is that the Doctors and Admin. KNOW that many times their treatements are not successful and they fear legal action, etc. They NEVER give up the records to family or other "outsiders" unless forced to by the courts.

Before fumbling around in those boxes, note the pipes above them wrapped in asbestos. What do you think is in the dust that is coating those boxes-just waiting for a microscopic flake to get into your lungs and kill you five years from now. Mesothileoma is the medical term.

James you can see it as "art" if you want but as Lynne alludes it is a pretty common thing in mental institutions. You visit a few of those you might find some real "gems". lol

It was common up until the 60's to sterilize patients, especially those who were "troublesome" in order to control them and keep them from having sex with other patients. It was also a remnant from the 20's and 30's when Germany was a leading exporter of Psychiatric theory and they saw it as a way of controlling the gene pool. And yes, I mean removing the testicles of men and the ovaries of women-not a vasectomy.

Some practices were downright barbaric.

The last place I worked in like that was an institution for teens. They were always skimping on staff requirements too. After I left the kids in the top floor (an ancient hospital with a three-story nurses dormitory for nurses in training turned into a youth detention center) waited until the guard went to sleep one night on the Graveyard shift and then crept up and broke his legs with pool cues. They didn't have an observation room. heh heh

More like a 20's or 30's model. They were probably still selling it in the 40's as designs didn't change overnight back then.

"It looks like a scene from Cold Creek Manor"

Thought I was the only one who'd seen that movie.

I've been in and worked in a few of these places and I think your assumption is probably accurate Motts.

Here's the thing about the abandoned stuff...if you work in such a place and they close it down, it ain't yours to take and even if you know it will just go to waste due to government regs about not using old stuff in the new facility-or maybe there is no new facility, if you take it and get caught you're labeled a thief. Most of the stuff was probably pretty worn anyway or somebody would've risked taking it. A shame really.

"The lower light was added later. Notice that the wire is run on the outside of the wall."

I would agree Daniel. Maybe not a lot later, but it wasn't installed with the first one. I'm thinking they installed it after a dark spot showed up-maybe somebody fell or even got attacked by an inmate.

"What's up in this hospital?"

You can be assured, extreme toxic levels of carcinogens such as asbestos, lead paint and who knows what else. I would recommend avoiding such places although the siren call of exploration is strong indeed. Don't forget at least some Wal Mart dust masks and rubber gloves. Wear rough, thick clothing and thick-soled shoes and carry along a good knife , screwdriver with multiple blades and a pair of pliers just in case you get a door slammed behind you. Beware of squatters and trespassers.

I'm a Psychologist...or was at one time. The paint is actually called "Institutional Green" and is quite famous. As y'all said, it is used in almost all of these places. I think I have read that its use was linked to "color therapy" and did have a calming effect, as somebody proposed.