Padlock

..is that legal?...well i guess..cause they were crazy..wow..this is breathtaking...

there was no law against it then and I believe that is the reason that these places were closed down in the 70's due to change of law that you can't hold patients against there will. I may be wrong but not sure .

Isn't a pad lock one with a lockable loop?rather than one fixed to a door, like this example.

I love how it's warped.

The large psychiatric facilities became much smaller or closed altogether, especially since 1970, for several reasons. New medications and more community mental health centers let patients be treated on an outpatient basis. States could no longer afford to maintain the huge facilities, many of which needed extensive repair and renovation to meet changing standards of care. There was increasing emphasis on providing treatment in the "least restrictive environment." A hospital usually is not the least restrictive environment. Many laws changed, but it is still definitely possible for a person with mental illness to be court-ordered to treatment in a state hospital. The standard that must be met is that the person is a danger to themselves or others.

This looks like a 19th century jail lock. I really like the vines & the exposed bricks. Spectacular photography.

oh locks...gotta hate them xD