Sun Parlor

Love the color in this picture. :)

Kay

Are all the men wearing SUITS? These are the patients? Boy, have we come a long way, and not necessarily for the better.

Very good comment Eldokid, made me smile and laugh. It's true, isn't it? Our dress standards have certainly changed. It looks like some of those men have neckties too - kind of a risk for mental patients - but I think Mr Motts mentioned in a previous frame that this is the wing for WW I veterans. Butterfly, I am wondering about the ceiling, it looks curved and about ready to fall in.

BKWOntario

The floors were solid concrete.

I believe the historic photograph was taken after the veterans had moved out and the men's wing was completed, so they should be regular psychiatric patients.

Things looked very different during the early years of psychiatric care in the U.S.; take a look at this patient room for instance. Voluntary admission was quite common, and these patients paid money to be treated at what were top-notch hospitals for the insane. Everything went downhill due to a number of factors, including the lack of funding, public stigma, and overcrowding. The book Death of the Asylum analyzes this process in detail.

Motts

Wow----suits then on psych patients?? When I was in psych wards (and I have been in plenty, believe me) it was a struggle to get some of the patients to even wear a flippin hospital gown! We usually wore our own clothes, but you felt grubby and messy because there really wasn't anything that you wanted to "dress" for...just lonely hours of staring out the window or staring vacantly at the television that was always tuned to some stupid soap opera or talk show.

Those floors look really shredded...they didn't hold up very well did they? I was wondering about the ceiling too...is that going to fall in or is it just the angle of the shot?

MamaToFiveInPA

Thanks much for the photo of the patients room and the info. :)

LucieLou

Thanks for the "Death of the Asylum" link!

Wonder if the checkerboard tile was under all the debris.

TootUncommon

Does anyone else get the creeps from the dudes in the white coats? It's like they are standing guard. Maybe the suits were worn for the photo shoot. A photographer would have been a novelty in those days.

Larry D

I think they are attendants; they were usually dressed all in white.

Motts

Which is where the phrase "the men in the white coats will come and get you" probably comes from -

I think ppl are forgetting there are varying degrees of insanity. These well-dressed men were obviously not as bad off mentally as the 'typical' patient.
These shots are good promotion of the 'nicer' side of asylums.

Kattoo

Definitely a factor to consider - I'm sure the "incurable" wards looked a lot different, even in the heyday of the asylum era.

Many reasons for admission were quite different compared to today's standards as well (alcoholism, depression, epilepsy, political / religious excitement, recommendation by husband, uncontrollable fits of laughter, etc).

Motts

Fascinating. Once again, one can still almost see them sitting there in today's sunlight.

gypsy

One man spent his entire life at Willard for kicking a garbage can in anger on a city sidewalk. The record was a woman who spent 75 years there. Look for "Ten Days in a Mad-House" by Nellie Bly to read a very incredible story. A young lady of phenomenal courage.

IMO, roles at many institutions were padded however possible to attract increased funding. It seems that skimming and kickbacks were common for the commissioners and directors as coal deliveries were shorted and premium prices were charged for spoiled food delivered by vendors, etc..

autoguy

Sat 04-09-2011

@autoguy: I know of a woman who spent 20+ years at Willard simply for having Cerebral Palsy. It's scary to think of all the ppl that were committed to such places for so long and so little.

Kattoo

Wed 04-20-2011

Is it me? Mr Motts photo has more life in it?

bobo miller

Fri 05-27-2011

Autoguy, I read that "Ten Days in a Mad-House" and was mesmerized. I think many people should read it, it will change your perspective on a lot of things.