Although they’ve faced a lot of controversy, the Jordan family are to be applauded and respected for taking on the difficult task of preserving and re-using the former Weston State Hospital. This summer they’ve got a pretty full schedule of events at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (hereinafter the TALA), and of course the usual public tours. I recommend making a special trip for the tours alone even if you weren’t already planning on being near Weston this summer.
The TALA is open for tours every Tuesday through Sunday. Tours on Mondays are by appointment only. You can purchase tickets for the special ghost tours and ghost hunts on the TALA website.
On July 4th, the TALA will host a T.E.A. Party. (For those of you—like me—who don’t know what a T.E.A. Party is, T.E.A. stands for Taxed Enough Already. It’s basically a protest about taxation.) Tours will also be going on the entire day.
The Lewis & Clark Circus (a “quality, family-oriented European style circus” according to their web site) will be at the TALA on July 25th and 26th.
Mud Mania will be happening from September 11th through September 13th.
Scare Asylum, featuring various well-known ghost hunters and other paranormally-inclined personalities, will be taking place on September 18th and 19th.
October will be a very busy time at the TALA (of course). The Haunted House will be ongoing for the entire month. The Fall Festival runs from the 22nd through the 25th. On the 30th, The Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures (kind of a ridiculous show in my opinion, but it can be entertaining in a way. Plus it’s a nationally aired program and bound to get the TALA some attention) will do a seven hour live broadcast from the TALA. And on the 31st, Halloween night, there will be a “Witches Ball” (costume party) with psychics, tarot card readers, and several live bands.
According to the Buffalo News, renovation work on the central admin and adjacent wards of the Buffalo Kirkbride is about to get serious. If all goes well, work to preserve the stone sections of the building for future use will be in full swing this summer, and should be completed in about 15 months. The Richardson Center Corporation also plans on stabilizing the brick wards during this time, but they expect those sections may stay vacant for quite a while.
There will be a final public meeting about the project at 6PM on Tuesday, July 14 in Buffalo State College’s Rockwell Hall.
Source: Work to Start on Richardson Olmsted’s Landmark Tower
I came across this write-up on the Village of Grand Traverse Commons online and snickered a little at the caption below the accompanying photo of Building 50. The caption describes the grand Italianate Kirkbride as an “old potato-peeling shed”. It’s only mildly funny I admit, but I figured I would share the laugh anyhow.
A fire started in the Fergus Falls Kirkbride earlier today (Tuesday, June 16). You can see some pictures of it here: Fire at the Regional Treatment Center. I don’t know the details, but will post more information when I find out more about it.
Update - Here’s some good video footage of the fire by Lethal over at the Fergus Falls Forum. Looks like the fire was caused by a lightning strike. It’s hard to tell, but the damage doesn’t look too intense. It’s painful to watch how long it takes for the ladder to extend, but I’m sure they’re moving as fast as they can.
Another Update - Here are some details about exactly what happened: Lightning Starts Fire to RTC Tower.
StoryCorps — the nonprofit project to honor and celebrate lives through listening — just posted a story about the memories of one Marcia Page: A Special Childhood Friend. Marcia spent part of her childhood on the grounds of the Fergus Falls State Hospital. Her father was the chief clinical psychologist there during part of the 1950s. While the piece is unfortunately brief, it does offer a warm glimpse of what life could be like for a hospital employee’s child. Read the Story
A national memorial for the mentally ill is being planned by Mental Health America and will be placed on the grounds of Saint Elizabeths hospital. The memorial is meant to specifically honor the thousands of people who have died while being treated at psychiatric hospitals around the nation and whom are often buried in anonymous graves such as the one pictured above. According to a Mental Health America press release:
“The Gardens at Saint Elizabeths — A National Memorial of Recovered Dignity designed by the University of Georgia’s School of Environmental Design, under the supervision of Professor Scott S. Weinberg, Associate Dean and recent graduate Elizabeth Brunelli — will be woven into an existing 10-acre cemetery that inters some 4,500 psychiatric patients who died at the federal facility. Nearly half of those with military grave markers are veterans dating back to the Civil War; the rest are civilians from the District of Columbia with no grave markers. Under the plan for the memorial, metal markers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia will list the numbers buried and at which institutions surrounded by gardens and a pool of water.”
Donations for the memorial can be sent to Mental Health America; 2000 North Beauregard St.; 6th Floor; Alexandria, VA 22311.
A gentleman named Benny Britton has published a book chronicling the history of Terrell State Hospital in Texas. Britton has been an employee of the hospital for forty-two years. Unfortunately, the book—which includes historic and current photos—does not appear to be available anywhere but at the hospital. If you’re in the Terrell area, there will be a book signing on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at the state hospital Silver Star Cinema at 5:30PM where the book will be available for purchase. More information can be found in this article: Terrell State Hospital History Book Published. If I find out you can pick up the book online or in bookstores, I’ll post a follow-up.
Here’s some really fascinating footage of the Oregon State Hospital J-Building being torn down. I don’t advocate smoking pot, but I think sparking up a J may be the only way you’re going to get through all 38 minutes and 57 seconds of this video. So why am I including it here? I feel bad about not posting more often and this seems like a fast and easy way to make it look like I’m still providing value for your money. Plus it gives me a chance to engage in some clever word play (J-Building… sparking up a J… get it?)
Sorry. Anyway, I found this gem embedded in an article about demolition of the J-Building. I thought it worth noting that there’s a good chance the State of Oregon will allow the public to collect bricks from the demolition as souvenirs, or for putting down a walkway in your garden if you’re one of those weird people who’s more into gardening than exploring or researching asylums.
In semi-related news, a date has been set for the auction of surplus items from the former Fergus Falls State Hospital. The auction will be held on July 7th, 2009. (That’s a Tuesday in case you’re wondering.) Items up for auction will include office supplies, tools, furniture and medical equipment from the former hospital.
So if you live around Fergus Falls, Minnseota or Salem, Oregon you may very soon have a chance to get your hands on a genuine piece of asylum history. If anyone goes to the auction and gets something particularly interesting, please let me know. I’ll be interested to hear about it.
In case you missed it, the first shots of the Greystone Kirkbride appeared on the House season five finale: Both Sides Now which aired about two weeks ago. You can now watch the episode online at Fox’s web site. Greystone makes its appearance just before the 42 minute mark. The footage is brief, but it’s a nice view and really captures the building’s imposing bulk. I was a little surprised to see that they didn’t try harder to make it look more like an active hospital, but maybe that was an artistic choice?
This morning, a reader sent me the URL to this article. The important part of which being the second to last sentence reading:
“[T]he company also expects within the next 30 days to start work tearing down 24 empty buildings on the grounds of the Taunton State Hospital.”
So demolition of the Taunton Kirkbride is a sure thing and it looks like it’ll happen this summer. There’s not much to say but too bad. It will be missed.
