Over the weekend I stopped off at Worcester State Hospital to check out the demolition work. There’s still a good portion of the wing standing, but I was surprised at how much is gone. Gage Hall (the non-freestanding rotunda) and the section I believe was named Lincoln are mostly rubble.
Oddly, the building seems much bigger with those pieces gone. I guess it has to do with how those parts blocked the view of the rest of the building from certain angles. Anyway, it won’t be long before the whole thing is gone. See it while you can. (more…)
Things have been a little slow in the Kirkbride newsroom lately. Aside from last week’s excitement over the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, there haven’t been many new developments in the world of Kirkbrides—just some rehashing of the same old news.
So here’s a post about more old Kirkbride photos on the web that people might not be aware of. In a previous post on the same topic, I mentioned that I couldn’t find some photos of Worcester State Hospital which I had come across earlier in the American Memory Collection. I found them again fortunately. As stated before though, the quality isn’t so hot. Maybe the originals are good (it might be worth getting copies), but the electronic versions available on the web site aren’t. That said, here are the links. (more…)
The abandoned buildings at Worcester State Hospital could start coming down as soon as this week according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Reporter Lee Hammel writes about the possible scaling back of the proposed new hospital facility, and mentions a few facts about demolition and the unclear fate of the Clocktower. (more…)
Yesterday, Wormtown Taxi posted photos of the new fence at Worcester. Signs of the imminent destruction are beginning to appear more ominous.
I was at Worcester State Hospital this past Saturday and the fence was already up then. It must have been put up last week. My heart sank as I approached. You can see the chain link shining in the sun all the way down from Route 9. It runs all along the edge of the property, almost right up to the street in some parts. The road behind the wards is basically closed too. (more…)
The blogging Worcester taxi driver at Wormtown Taxi promises to post pictures of Worcester State Hospital demo work as it unfolds. This might be a good resource for those of you outside Massachusetts.
Old time Kirkbride Buildings forum member WSH posted a few scans today of some annual reports from the “Worcester Lunatic Hospital“. Among other things, the superintendent writes about the installation of the clock in the admin tower. Also included are old photos of one of the rotundas, Hooper Hall. They’re definitely worth checking out.
Source: Google Maps
Above is Google’s Street View of Worcester State Hospital. Click on the image and drag your mouse around to explore it. You can see the Clocktower and other remaining pieces of the Kirkbride, as well as the rest of the hospital campus. (more…)
I’ve received confirmation from a respectable source: demolition at Worcester State Hospital will definitely take place this Spring. Not only that but portions of what used to be the Kirkbride will be taken down. Demolition is scheduled to start March 31st and everything but the Clocktower and Hooper rotunda (the one closest to the functioning buildings) will be destroyed.
This is sad news, but not completely unexpected.
According to this article in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Worcester State Hospital came “this close” to being featured in an upcoming Martin Scorsese film. Unfortunately, scheduled demolition of buildings at WSH prevented that from happening. Too bad. It would have been nice to see the Worcester Kirkbride featured in a film. (more…)
