June 28th, 2008
No, I’m not talking about ghosts, it’s some Avalon Danvers residents who are apparently unhappy. I was looking around for news items about Danvers State Hospital, and came across some reviews of Avalon Danvers from current residents of the complex. Complaints range from noise and traffic problems, unresponsive management, unseemly neighbors, and “corners cut on construction”. I’m sure all you Avalon haters will enjoy reading these: (more…)
June 27th, 2008
Today’s Salem News has an article about last night’s grand opening ceremony at Avalon Danvers: Officials Celebrate Rebirth of Danvers State Property. Even with all the congratulations about what they did preserve, I still don’t believe Avalon cared one bit about preserving anything at Danvers State Hospital. They only did what they had to do to get their hands on the property and cram as many multi-level crap shacks as they could fit on top of Hathorne Hill.
I have to agree with Richard Trask. The Avalon Danvers development was “an historical rape of an important structure, not just to Danvers but to the United States.”
June 24th, 2008
I like all Kirkbride buildings, but definitely not equally. I have my favorites. Below is a list of the five I like most. Before we get to the list though, here’s a little disclaimer: this list is based solely on aesthetics and does not mean that these are particularly good examples of Kirkbride buildings, or that these were the best hospitals in terms of treatment, recovery rates, staff, etc. Also, I’m only counting the buildings I’ve been to. There are other Kirkbrides I would have considered, but they were demolished decades ago and I don’t want to evaluate them on photographs alone.
And now, without further ado… (more…)
March 9th, 2008
There’s an article today in The Boston Globe about Avalon Danvers: Rentals Are Going Quickly at Old Danvers Hospital Site. Avalon is finishing up the last few buildings and completion of the entire project should be in June of this year. It doesn’t sound like they’re having any trouble leasing or renting units either which will come as a surprise to those who thought Avalon’s investment unwise. Not that I’m all that happy for them…
February 4th, 2008
My wife and I recently looked at an apartment in what used to be the Danvers Kirkbride. We originally thought we were going to be looking at a condo, but it turns out Avalon only rents the Kirkbride living spaces.
We were shown a model apartment on the first floor of the admin. It was actually reasonably nice for an apartment. The rooms were bright (because of those big Kirkbride windows). The kitchen had the essential granite counter tops, and a seemingly impossible amount of cabinet space. There were also two huge bathrooms you could dance the Tango in. While not exceptional, the construction didn’t seem particularly cheap either. We were told the apartments in what’s left of the Kirkbride are of a higher quality than the ones in the new buildings. (more, including interior photos…)
January 11th, 2008
There’s a location in Second Life modeled after Danvers State Hospital. It’s called Ryder Asylum. If you’re a Second Life user, you can teleport there from this page. You can also rent rooms in the Kirkbride. (more…)
