Stagnant Playthings

That's pretty poignant.

how sad :(

Stagnant lives and stolen childhoods

in a sick way, this is a fitting tribute to the Institution

I used to have that toy on the far right

my brothers had the same toy in their crib, this picture saddens me in a way that i can not describe.

Toys that were once loved & cherished now lie alone to rot...not unlike the poor children who once played with them.

I Wonder What Happened To the Child Who Played With This Last?

This is an image of a childhood no one should have.

This rips my soul in half.

out of all the pictures this is the saddest....

wow..this one gets u real deep...

Whoa. This is hard-hitting. What a truly horrible image. Cliched though it sounds, I wonder what became of those who last played with these items - I can only hope their story had a happier ending.

Yeah, I used to have one of those toys on the right, too. Press buttons, smack it around, and it makes a lot of noise.
Kind of ironic how the car on the left seems to have "driven" into a ditch.

I think all kids had that toy in one version or another.I believe my parents even have a picture of me with one of those.

Yup, I had one of those in my crib. I actually distinctly remember playing with it - the noise would wake up my parents and tell them to come get me out of my crib lol.

I also had the toy on the right, it stay around the house long after it was removed from my crib.

This picture reminds me of the sad things in my childhood.

i real don,t think that those toys were there when the place was open . I REAL THINK SOME ONE PUT THEM THERE T

"i real don,t think that those toys were there when the place was open "

You know what, even when a place shuts down PEOPLE BRING THING INTO AN ABANDONED BUILDING. Yes you are right, these were not here when the building opened up. WHO FRIGGIN CARES!

Mott is trying to show an emotion with this photo idiot. It is sad that a childhood memory is rotting away under rain water.

Look with your eyes moron

must comment here being as this was a state school for children why then wouldnt there be toys and such left upon its closing anyone with common sense........using term loosely would know this............

lol all i gotta say is that if you can draw like that there isnt somthing wrong with you

Maybe one of the staff drew it?

i was actually there on 8/26/06...when that last comment was left...but anyway there are alot of toys and random other objects you would not expect to be left there...now the beer bottles and spray paint thats the stuff that is the most depressing

its ahame... theyre so abandoned

What draws my eye the most is that there is still a perfectly good drawing in chalk on that little blackboard.
Someone's dream that managed to live long after they died, I guess.

omfg thats SOOOO pathetic. make it look REAL. god how stupid do you think we are. wht an idiot. haha

iloveyoufgt

yeah well y is there still a drawinging that hasn't been washed away how do u explain that

the water would have washed it away

A deathly silence grips the innocence of childhood...a very poignant shot.

By the time this toy was manufactured there were no "children" at Pennhurst Center. There were only adults with the mental capacity of children.

The toy on the right is a Fisher Price Activity centre.

I think me, my brother & sister & a cousin all had the same one over the years.

It was an earler looking one.

Well unless the people exploring this building carry chalk on them at all times, I suspect that the board was manufactured with the road/sky drawn on and the idea was to play with that scene with your car, animal, and maybe people magnets, and you could add to the background by drawing birds, exhaust smoke, bikes, etc. etc with chalk. Either that or a staff member drew the picture on with a china pencil/white pencil crayon. Those things do not easily rub off chalkboards. My school teachers had chalkboards that they drew horizontal lines across with white or blue pencilcrayon, like lined paper, as a guide for learning to print letters evenly. You could wipe off your writing after but the lines remained. However, because of the presence of the car and dog magnets, I think the image was likely manufactured on and then you could add to it, erase, and add something different.

Thank you Elizabeth for being the voice of reason. You are absolutely right. Those toys are manufactured with the background scene in place.

I've actually seen this toy and Elizabeth&Frank you two are completely right...However the dog and the car are no longer there.

Forgotten toys to go along with the forgotten and ill considered lives.

My son has the exact same one as the toy on the right, its hanging on his crib and even though hes supposed to be having a nap, I can hear him playing with it right now. A little creepy, I come across this picture and get the exact sound effects of the toy.

this makes me cry

i wanna see one of the busted dolls! ^.^

Such a powerful presentation of youthful innocence and play mixed with age and decay. Wonderful picture.

The toy on the right looks like a toy I had as a baby. I still have it, and my baby cousin plays with it whenever she comes over to my house.

why is this place collecting so much water?

FOR WHO

What a terribly sad image.

is this room metal ? is that rust on the walls ? what tha hell is it i wonder ??

Quite emotional....