No Sun in the Solarium

NEW STUFF! Snoopy dancing in my head.......once again! Thank you Motts. Welcome back!

NEW PICS!! and Danvers to boot!!!! (looks like you had a good vacation Mr. Motts! )

Whenever you describe a setting as having been "pitch black", I am always astonished at how well the photos are done; especially the richness of the colors or the contrast and midranges of the monochromes. Very nice. I think what you do is, in many ways, an important public service, in that buildings have a life cycle, but usually the only aspects of the existence of the building that are documented are the creation, the usage, and sometimes, the very end and demolition of the building. I don't beleive there is wide-spread documentation of the actual _decay_ of the empty building between the end of it's useful life and its demolition.


Besides, urban decay totally fascinates me. ;)

I love coming here and seeing something new, I get all excited like a little kid! Dark or not Motts, your photographs still show the story........

Allllllllllllllllllllllllrirrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiigggggghhhhhhhhhttttt
new stuff!

Nothing like making your comeback with Danvers. You're probably pro at sneaking into these places now, seeing as you never got caught at the "big joint". I so appreciate you doing this, though; it's like my mini tour without actually going in.

I've been waiting for "The Return"....(AND the new pics!!!)
Thanks, Motts!

is that like "Return of the King'?

I never got those movies.

FORSOOTH!!! FOR HE RETURN-ETH!!...eth....

"No Sun in the Solarium" - how sad is that? You are a poet as well as a photographer, Mr. Mott.
Kudos.

I was wondering, is this the hospital from the movie "Session 9", if not, does anyone know what hospital that is? Your photographs are amazing, keep em coming!

Sorry, I just read the description of the hospital. I wish I lived somewhere near those places - they're interesting to visit.

As far as I know "Session 9" was indeed filmed at Danvers. I cant believe they are tearing the place down! I wish I lived closer to go there in person.

I could honestly spend hours and hours looking at these fantastic atmospheric pictures, excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG! danvers hospital! i need some popcorn and stuff!!! thx m8!

I can't believe it's going to be gone...
Way to destroy history...
:(

Motts, I have looked at all of the pictures of DSH you have put up over and over again. I spent most of my childhood in thease very buildings. I hope you dont mind but I have commented on several photos throughout the site. The memories they have braught back to me. Things I have not thaught about in many years. Some things better left in the dark receses of my mind, but others pleasing. I thank you for sharing this. You may never know how seeing this has touched me. With your permision, I wonder if copies of thease prints are perhaps for sale. Please contact me at wickedwiccan77@yahoo.com. Thank you

I live right near here,..and i actually go to school very close by in danvers...it's cool...wish i could sneek in lol

It appears that we may have a worthy student.

http://lynnieburd.yafro.com/photo/10373681

Heck yes! That's an awesome photo lynnieburd! :0)

came across this thought I'd post it. Glad you have captured it while you could and shared with us all Motts...http://www.danversstat....com/chronicles.html

i lived nere there for years in peabody when i was a kid i would sneek into there every other day . back then it was easy to get in that was about 12 years ago , and i can still reamember the of halls , some times i would drive on rt 1 and the peeks out of the tree line and i just want to get enough balls to see it again...........................looking at your pics remind me of good scrary times with my friends and poor little girl that i was dateing at the time ..ps i have some good pics of the old salem jail have you ben in there .check that place out...

Lynnieburd, I've lived in Danvers all my life (except in college) so always saw this hospital when driving by. There was a time you can sneak in, but the security is very tight and they are arresting people now. See my other posts in different pics, I have legnthy comments there . .

Can professional photographers get permission to take pictures on site legally before its completely torn down? Is there any way?

Name any business that isn't out for money?It's really sad how our history's disappearing.

I live next to Danvers and we drove by and Avalon Bay has begun demolition....I have a horse barn that i take riding lessons at that is right next to the hospital, so i have to watch them tear it down...its terrible...:-(

Thank you very much for sharing these intensely thought-provoking images. I saw the film "Session 9" & it brought back the memories of the fear I felt growing up in Beverly (city next to Danvers) as I was always in awe of DSH. It was like an accident you couldn't look away from--right in my own back yard. At the same time, my heart went out to the people within those walls who had no choice. I'm extremely disgusted with Avalon Bay for their heartless & greedy destruction of such a historical landmark. I believe this is a desecration to the people who were so horribly abused there. If anything, DSH should become a memorial/museum for those tortured souls. The unspeakable things that went on in that place should NEVER be forgotten & most certainly, NEVER be repeated. Is there anything, ANYTHING at all we as a community can do to stop this injustice?

Lynne, lemme handle this one, you've had a rough day...

Edina, there are, in fact, multiple things you can do to help out. First and foremost, research, research, research. Don't just pass on things you've heard, gather proof. You might find it wasn't as bad as you thought.

Second, educate others. After you know the truth and not just the rumors, you'll do so much good by passing the information along to anyone you can get to stay still!

Third, and most important, volunteer! There are plenty of people with "disorders" who need help, and if you were to volunteer some time with them you would be doing the most amount of help possible!

I appreciate your response, Dr. Sketch. I can assure you I'm not basing my comments on rumours. My aunt worked at DSH as a nurse for a while. My sister was placed there in the early 70's as part of a day program. She had first-hand experience & fortunately, was treated well. I applied for a job at DSH as a direct care worker. I changed my mind after my interview was concluded. All the times I had been there, the walls were in terrible disarray, it was cold as hell & the stench was impossible to get use to. Most of the patients were treated as numbers & as chattel. However, most of the staff truly cared about them. But the overcrowding & lack of funds put tremendous strain on those involved. Shortly thereafter, I worked as a direct care worker at a state hospital , Hogan Regional Center which was just next door to DSH. I met many employees there who had worked at DSH & were witness to a number of "highly questionnable" treatments of patients. I loved the patients at Hogan. But I discovered I wasn't the kind of person who could detach myself from them. My heart got too involved & as a result, I quit the job. When you work for a state-run institutionalized hospital, there's much frustration at the lack of care the state actually has for patients. That was something I couldn't get use to & therefore, had to leave. I have tremendous appreciation for those select direct care employees who are able to work with only their heads & not their hearts. But who needs more heartfelt attention, care & yes, love, than the patients at these places? So many of them have been abandoned by their own families. Where does the real caring end & the "mechanized" begin? Personally, I have great difficulty distinguishing between the two.

Sorry if I came across sounding harsh, we're all just so used to people coming in not knowing what they're talking about...

You make very good points, and point out something that Lynne used to spend hours on her soapbox about: the people working there weren't "bad" people, they were understaffed, underfunded, and overcrowded. They did the best they could with what they had, and in many cases used their personal time and money to help as well.

I don't want to see these buildings destroyed. I'm not sure that making them a memorial to what was wrong is the right thing to do either. I think it's important to remember where we came from, but just as important to remember how much better things are now... What really keeps me up late at night is wondering: if we hadn't gone through the bad treatments that we did, where would we be now? Would we have the improved treatment of patients, and better methods? I don't know, and I'm not sure I want to... I just try to always remember that things are a lot better now, not as good as they will be, but the constant factor is that the staff always cares...

I should throw in that I misread "tortured souls" to mean you thought they were being tortured by the docs, not tortured by their own minds... Sorry again!

Thank you, Dr. Sketch. There was no need to apologize. I suppose I can't blame you for your reaction, especially if you're used to people not having the facts. This is my first time on a site like this. I'm truly mesmerized by the photos & all the comments of everyone. I should've clarified my wishes regarding a memorial of some sort. I was referring to the 768 unmarked graves on the grounds of the hospital. Those souls who were disrespected & forgotten make me want to cry.

Leaving aside what happened inside those walls for the moment, the architecture alone should have ensured that building was never touched (in fact, it should have been cared for and preserved, and never allowed to deteriorate into the sad condition it was in to begin with). Yes, the developer is greedy, and represents, in my opinion, all that is wrong with society today, but so is the state, and I believe the majority of the blame lies with those short-sighted fools at the state level who could have and should have preserved this beautiful piece of history. I thought being on the historic regsiter meant something. Apparently it doesn't when stacked up against the almighty dollar.

Thank you, Motts, for providing us the last glimpse we will get of this wonderful, singularly unique property before it's gone forever.

I make no comment on tearing down, and renovation of DSH. I am a former employee, worked in the Kirkbride and Bonner buildings for 16 years, on the 11 to 7 shift. My Dad, and Aunt worked there as well. So I grew up a Hill brat so to speak. Nostalgically I think the demolition is a shame. It's been abandoned for 14 years. The Kirkbride was actually more or less closed several years before. The place is a fire trap. Asbestos is literally every where. The state was not going to take care of it . Let Avalon do their thing. The facades, somewhat, will remain. The place will be cleaner, safer, and still full of memories for former residents, employees, and the surrounding communities for as long as "The Hill" exists, in whatever incarnation it ends up in. I do not envy the condo owners. I'm sure the place is haunted. Destroying parts of the place will certainly arouse those grouned spirits that remain

this is the hospital where the movie "Session 9" was filmed. Actor David Curuso described the facility as "probably the scariest building in the world".

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww SCARY stuff to all my home boyes dis site is da best

BigED -- I loved your eloquent comment on 4-17. Have you or anyone else who posts on this site read Danvers State: Memoirs of a Nurse in the Asylum? I bought it through Amazon. I wish the writer had been more descriptive of the Kirkbride itself, but it is a very interesting depiction of what life was like for the patients and caretakers themselves. I, too, became enamored of Danvers after I bought Session 9. The best parts of the DVD were the comments of the director and some of the actors -- actually that part of the DVD was a lot more interesting than the movie itself. And as I have stated in several posts on this site -- there are some artifacts being offered on ebay.

I just checked the Danvers website and Avalon Bay has done their dirty deed. Almost all of the Kirkbride and all of the outbuildings are gone. I'm just too incensed to write any more.

Look at it this way folks. New life rising from the ashes of the old.

Amen.

"the sun still sleeps,and when she wakes, ill close my eyes, just for tonight..."
underoath

Would have given anything to go through this whole building before any demolition!!!! Does anyone know how far the demolition is?

My great-grandma used to go here. I'ts sad to think that it's in ruins now....with people sparay-painting it and whatnot. Horribly sad.

I drove by it yesterday. It's gone......just one big empty construction site. You can't even park your car at the bottom of the hill without security shooing you away. God forbid you show up anywhere near the grounds after dark - you will be automatically arrested. Before you would drive down RT 95 and see the building looming up on the horizon. Now all you see is the empty space and metal fence. Last I heard they are building condos on the grounds. I know some people will try and buy them thinking it will be really cool to live where the DSH used to stand, but if you grew up around here you know that the land and whatever happened in that building should not be taken lightly. It should be respected and revered.

I highly doubt the people who can *afford* to live in those condos would give a damn about what the place used to be or the history there. Just how much they can brag about their spacious bathrooms and tennis courts.

And quite frankly, I'd consider it a mark of pride to be arrested for something like that.

Very well said Nicki and Navi
I was thinking the same thing as well
My Dad used to go there all the time with my uncle ( he had a job as a cook) and were buddies with the security and were able to get into the hospital and the tunnles in stuff. I just talked with my dad the other day and told him how the buildings are gone, and whats gonna go in its place and his words were " There is no way in hell I would want to live up there"
Its just really outa controll how the towns like Danvers and Middelton, where i live, are with new homes and condos now....its just sad....all these million doller homes...The towns just changed so much

That place HAS to be haunted and people are actually going to live there in condos.....good luck to them

even if it is haunted...the dead cannot hurt you...its the living people who are vicious and can hurt and kill. living people are worse than animals

It is unfortunate that the building is being demolished.It would be difficult to preserve after so many years of neglect.Another problem is that old buildings like this are full of asbestos and lead paint.

I whent up there last week ( I'm doing my history progect on D.S.H) we talked with one the the construction workers who was taking us around the site..It looks so different from the last time i was up there. its like backwords. I think the most disturbing news this man told us was they were diging up bodies everywhere.
I guess they have permission from the state or somthing that give them the right to do so if the bodies are in the way. I think this is terrible.

The man was very very nice though, he let us right up..

so if anyone wants to go up and check it out, you probabaly can.
me and my mom said that we had family in the cemetery ( we dont but..we had family up there) so thats how we got in
the man also told us there was a tunnle open and he could take us inside in stuff

they kept some buildings like the shacks idk what they were exactly but the door said they belongs to " A".

i still cant belive whats goin on up there though..its rediculious..

jackie, i cant believe they would do that ,you are lucky if god forbide something was to happen in those unstable tunnels they could maybe lialble.

they spend 15 years keeping people out and then let people walk a construction site ?

yeah i know

i was very surprised they let us come up too..

My mum didnt want to go into the tunnles so we never got to go in.

its really terrible what they are doing though.

i"ve heard the tunnells were loaded with asbestos, and bat guarno . not sure if i spelled that correctly anyways be glad you didny go in . i guess thats anouther great thing about these pictures the dirty work is done for us all to enjoy.

when i say dirty work i mean it with the up most respect.

There was a big fire at the old Danvers hospital, most of it has burned down. This happened 4/6/07.

The kirkbride itself is fine, everything else is what burned.

I was just there( 9-23-07), on the site and saw what has been done with the Kirkbride building. Totally renovated and beautified!!! Too bad that it is a condominium city now! At least they kept the Kirkbride. Session 9, the movie is what got me interested in the place, see the movie!

Ahhh, home sweet home. It's great to finally see what this place looks like from the inside. I live right down the street from the hospital, but never had the chance to go in it. Thank you for posting these stunning images.

I think the graffiti makes it look sloppy

No, the graffiti was done by idiots. The state of decay makes it look sloppy.

Why are you so serious

I can't stop coming back to these photos and looking at them over and over again. DSH is what got me into UE, and while I never got to see her in all of her original glory, the building holds a lot of meaning for me. It's such an amazing place, and it's a real shame that she's gone.

That was not boarded in session 9.

would love to know more about the kirkbride. worcester state was in that design too,are there more?

Nutsy there there is a website kirkbride buildings.com

I messed up it is Kirkbridebuildings.com

the 1st "insane asylums" (asyla?) in the US were (im fairly certain) this one and worcester state, one being an expensive facility for the mad sons and daughters of the rich (this one, i think) and the other being for the, well, nameless rabble. it would stand to reason then that early pt.s here were given more humane treatment, as money does tend to make its opinion known vocally. again im pretty sure this was one of those 1st 2 early psychiatric facilities in the US, im certain worcester state was. i should really know more about this, considering i just got my BA in psychology in Worcester, Mass. (college of the holy cross FTW) and spent almost 2 weeks of my senior year in a psych unit right near the old WSH (major depressive disorder FTL)
also Session 9 was great.

Wasn't the Trans Allhageny Lunitic Asylum one of the first. It was also one of the biggist. PS I haven't seen session 9

"The Public Hospital for Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds" in Williamsburg, Virginia (now called Eastern State Hospital) took its first admission on October 12, 1773, and was the first public facility in the U.S. built solely for the care and treatment of people with psychiatric issues.

ACCCKKK!!! Forgot the link - sorry:

http://www.history.org.../places/hb/hbhos.cfm

Actually McLean Hospital is in Belmont, MA.
Don't mean to be a know it all or butt in with my two cents, but I know this for a fact because my dad's grandfather spent a lot of time there as a resident. It was a far cry from the state hospitals of the day and basically was only for the well -to-do set, as it is today, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Well not exactly........ McLean, then Eastern, then Trans Alhegeny, the Danvers

dude i would hate to be there i have read so many things about danvers it is amazing

It's a shame that it was torn down for profits.
I look at that picture and i swear I can see the souls of those who walked around the solarium when it was opened. They would let the sun's rays warm their faces. Now they do the same but as ghosts and the light is no longer attainable for some.

I'm killing everyone in those condo's.
And the fucking Awhole jerks who 'own' the land.

Oh that is brilliant. That is the most idiotic statement I have ever heard. Post a threat online... Anyway I do like this particular shot.

This hospital was also mention in a book by the name of Project 17.

I have been in McLeans (before it was converted to condo's)...very scary stuff..ive been trying to find pictures of the old hospital. It was a marvel in terms of architecture...like a small college campus..all interconnected with an subterranian network of maintanance halls, which had to be, if i recall correctly, two to three flights below ground. It was cold as hell down there (never mind pitch black, even with a maglight)..final statement..the chapel was notoriously known for having over a hundred teddy bears hanging in nooses from the ceiling..now tell me THATS not crazy...whats crazier..is that the new condo development cleverly chose the chapels basement as the foundation for thier community pool!

im so sad they are renovating it! i think its a great historical piece of mass! The pics are awesome!

This looks like it's on the backward, as indicated by the small, rectangular windows. I wish I could have helped the most chronic patients with music and art. God Bless them all!

It's the Coppertone Room!

you know people were put in these hospitals for no exact reason. God Bless the souls who were

Quoth the raven, "Nevermore"_E.A. Poe