Monday, January 9th, 2012
As I’ve mentioned here and on the Kirkbride Buildings Facebook page, time is running out for the Worcester State Hospital clock tower. The entire admin is very likely doomed, but there is still a chance the actual clock tower will be saved. Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 10, 2012 is the last day to register a comment calling for preservation. See this article for details: For Old Times Sake. The state has offered to build a replica of the clock tower after demolishing the original. I think keeping the original is much more preferable to a replica. If you feel the same, please make sure to say so when sending your comment to the state.
Comments can be sent by email to the office of the Secretary of Energy & Environmental Affairs. The address is deirdre.buckley@state.ma.us. It couldn’t get much easier.
Please take a few minutes to send them a message calling for preservation of the clock tower. Please spread the word about this too. Thanks.
Posted in Buildings, Demolition, Preservation | Comments Off on Save the Clocktower Tower
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
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…)
Posted in Buildings, Demolition, Pictures | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
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…)
Posted in Buildings, Pictures | Comments Off on More Historical Photo Goodness
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
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…)
Posted in Buildings, Demolition, In the News, Preservation | Comments Off on It’s Coming Down
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
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…)
Posted in Buildings, Demolition, Pictures | 6 Comments »
Saturday, March 22nd, 2008
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.
Posted in Buildings, Demolition, Pictures | Comments Off on Wormtown Means Worcester
Thursday, March 6th, 2008
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.
Posted in Buildings, Pictures, Web Sites | Comments Off on Worcester Clock Installation
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008
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…)
Posted in Buildings, Pictures, Web Sites | Comments Off on WSH: The View from the Street
Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008
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.
Posted in Buildings, Demolition | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007
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…)
Posted in Buildings, In the News | 3 Comments »