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The Black Ward

The Black Ward

This room was undoubtedly strange; all the walls, tiles, and doors were once painted black, a real no-no in hospital decor standards. This could've been an isolation area, perhaps for tuberculosis patients or for other infectious diseases... but it doesn't explain the color scheme.
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Another strange thing about it is that dark colors like black or dark blue are near impossible to keep clean of dust and water marks.
Mnementh
Sun 06-19-2005
Smoke and fire stains won't show up either.
Puddleboy
Tue 11-01-2005
That IS bizarre...
MinxGirl
Thu 12-15-2005
gets my mind moving
chrissie
Wed 02-08-2006
besides, anything is better than that hideous green in EVERY ROOM OF EVERY hospital from back then
chrissie
Wed 02-08-2006
Perhaps these black rooms were for used as isolation rooms.. Pt.s in phsycological crisis.... so it won't stimulate thier minds further like other bright colors would.
Smurfy
Mon 05-22-2006
or its where the demonic staff took innocent patients that learned to much to be "decomissioned"
lol
very 1984ish
(as in the book, George Orwell)
cory
Thu 05-25-2006
A dark room of sorts maybe? Maybe they had some patients that had that genetic disorder that wouldn't allow them to go into the light.
reddll
Thu 07-20-2006
why so several abandoned asylums have black rooms??? is there a theory about structure i missed in penology or abnormal psychology???
miss joee...
Wed 11-22-2006
sorry, it looks like english 300 escaped me when i forgot to proof the above post...
miss joee
Wed 11-22-2006
This wasn't a psychiatric hospital.
Motts
Wed 11-22-2006
I wonder if they maybe used it as a dark room for developing xrays or photographs? Although, for a dark room it's oddly well lit. :P
OrionFL79
Tue 12-12-2006
oh i'm sorry. it does say memorial hospital and not psychiatric hospital. i guess i assumed due to the majority of content. sorry again. anyway, i guess my question will remain unknown.
miss joee
Mon 12-18-2006
I wander if it was used for "dark colored people"
Very common for stuff like that back then.
Hopefully we will never repeat any of that disgusting thing we call... racism.
Canada
Sun 03-25-2007
It was probably used to treat the people who had skin infections where they couldn't go into the light. There ARE such people who can't. They probably had plastic up on the windows back then or something (someone might've stolen it if there was) to diffuse the light and stuff.
Akurin
Mon 03-26-2007
I LOVE BLACK!!!!!!
Nevermore
Wed 06-20-2007
I'd think that xeroderma pigmentosa and other light-sensitive conditions would be a bit too rare to necessitate an entire wing of a hospital in such a design.
Alex J
Fri 08-31-2007
Black rooms suck. No room is as good as white rooms. Other ones don't have the FEEL thay white rooms have. I've spent time in black rooms, red rooms, yellow rooms... but they just dont cut it. hahaha ;)
Manda
Fri 04-25-2008
Actually your commentor "Smurfy" back in 2006 was close to being correct. The lack of stimulation in color was thought, up through the mid-1900's to decrease violent outbursts in psych patients. Additionally, dark colors were though to create apathy in excitable patients. In the late 70's color alteration was then studied and used by law enforcement in their isolation cells in which "pink" (of all colors) was shown to decrease volinet and aggressive behavior in inmates, where blue was shown to increase it. Kudo's to Smurfy's earliest observation.
Steve D
Thu 08-28-2008
Steve D may be on to something, However, I've been to and seen a LOT of hospitals in my time, and I've NEVER seen a room painted or tiled in black. intriguing to say the least.
MedicSpanker
Wed 12-17-2008
They started playing The Rolling Stones on the radio when the decorators got to this room...
Kez
Sun 05-24-2009
i would say it was for psychiatric patients
karen
Sun 08-30-2009
i adore this ward. it just makes you think.
addy
Sun 07-25-2010
Nice shot and, indeed, a very curious color choice.
Ŗivẹt
Thu 10-21-2010

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