Chimney

the outside of the building is so lovely, you would never know that it was falling apart so badly on the inside

Man, you lined another shot up just perfectly! I do love this place.

I'm speechless......

I am absolutely stumped as to why such meticulous effort in the detail of the architecture / masonry was tended to, (aside from the typical styles of the period) knowing these structures were intended to house the insane. Nothing personal, but highly ornate construction for a nuthouse...
Perhaps the builders were related to the tenants?

The intent, alien as it appears to some, was to treat the so-called "insane" with some modicum of decency and humanity, with compassion and respect, and house them in a beautiful and "humane" environment (and not a "nuthouse") in the hopes that it would help their return to normalcy. This was termed "moral treatment" and actually did a lot of good before the lack of adequate housing for people with mental illness forced the severe overcrowding that led to the infamous abuses that seem to horrify and yet morbidly attract so many to this site. The original builders had compassion for the tenants, which makes me admire them rather than scorn them as it seems you might.

What absolutely stumps me is the condescending attitude and lack of empathy and concern that some people show toward others who are going through a very rough stretch of life. I sincerely hope that if anything ever befalls you or someone you love, you won't have to deal with someone who shows this same lack of concern and respect.

Put your claws away Lynne. I thought personal opinion was allowed here. You saw no attitude toward the tenants ( called 'insane' because as Motts did note, this was an Insane Asylum). I see alot of commentary on this site, most of which is accepted as opinion without retort, and I notice also that you seem to be the only one who takes personal offense to the point of 'taking someone on'. No flames please.

You're right, Aliester, and I apologize. I notice I do tend to get unjustifiably defensive when someone calls a mental health facility a "nuthouse" and wonders if someone who builds a lovely home for people with problems should therefore also be classified as having problems. That was a totally uncalled for observation on my part and I'll not say anything else. The floor is yours. :-)

"I am absolutely stumped as to why such meticulous effort in the detail of the architecture / masonry was tended to, (aside from the typical styles of the period) knowing these structures were intended to house the insane. Nothing personal, but highly ornate construction for a " " ...
Perhaps the builders were related to the tenants?"

ALIESTER, THESE BUILDINGS WERE BUILT BACK WHEN PRIDE IN YOUR CRAFT MEANT EVERYTHING. THESE TRADESMEN HAD A PLAN AND THEY FOLLOWED IT. I'M SURE THEY DIDN'T THINK TOO MUCH ABOUT WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE WERE GOING TO BE HERE.

...but they did think about it...
the architect was the visualist...the vision, to build something good and neccessary...

kirkbridebuildings.com

...We all have a "junk drawer" or a closet we toss things in, don't we? We do so because we don't needs these things presently in our busy lives, or we don't want to be reminded of what they represent, or they are too much to handle...Yet, we don't want to lose them because we still somehow think they have a place in our lives or will later, or we still love them too much. That drawer is a part of our house. We hold responsibility for it.
We're not talking about "things", though are we? The vision was to build a retreat-a home for our lost and hidden.
Humanity.
The results are these intensely beautiful structures.
As to the blood and sweat of it...the craftsmen were hirees, and wonderful hirees they were. They did their jobs and made the visualist proud...because the beauty of these buildings is classic. From a solid plan, they built a foundation!
Seems to me a lot of love born of dignity (could be the other way around, too) was involved...

Are we not marveling at the lines of these buildings now?
Remember that I talk of the good and neccessity of it all...and that was the reason for the vision.

WELL PUT QUEST! AGREED.

well, thanks, and I wore meself out on that one 8-)

it is intresting to see how these pictures affect one another, really we should enjoy the beauty of this building, and that someone has cared enough to post pictures of a historic time, cant we all just egt along 8-)

Of course we should all just get along. But those of us who have dedicated our professional lives (and our personal lives, too, because these aren't jobs you just walk away from at the end of your 8 or 12 or 16 hours) to helping people who need assistance to have the best lives they can, also feel an obligation to at least try to educate the public on behalf of the people we serve. Much of the sadness and pain and abuse associated with these facilities would not have happened had those who controlled allocation of resources (and that's all of us via the voting booth) not considered them just "nuthouses" for the "insane." Mental illness is not a character flaw, is not a sign of failure, is not "all in the head" (although it is a problem with brain functioning). It is just as real as cancer or kidney failure or any other disease. People who have it deserve the same regard and care that we give any other person. Think about some of the ideas we learned in school--the way to judge a society's goodness is to look at how it treats those members least able to care for themselves, and that until there is justice for all, there can be justice for none. How can we just write off people as being unworthy of pleasant surroundings? How can we say they are not important enough or not deserving enough or not aware enough to notice or care? Pretty much everything we say tells more about us than it does about those we cast aside as "other."