Kirkbride Buildings Blog

Only Sort of Related: Northeast Architecture

Northeast Architecture
Sorry for the blatant self-promotion, but I think some of you regular readers will be interested in this. I’ve started another web site along similar lines to this one, although it doesn’t have anything to do with asylums. It’s a collection of photos and history of buildings in the northeastern United States.

www.nearchitecture.com

In studying Kirkbrides for so long, I’ve also gained appreciation for other buildings too. Even though they don’t have the same allure as the old insane asylums, other buildings can still be beautiful and intriguing. While traveling to visit Kirkbrides, I’ve come across a few other places worth taking pictures of. I wasn’t planning this new site when I took the photos though so the galleries are currently a bit uneven. But at least it’s a better starting off point than the original KirkbrideBuildings.com! (I still can’t believe I put that online. You’ve come a long way, baby…) (more…)

Even More Historical Photo Goodness

As promised in my last post, here’s another collection of links to old photographs of Kirkbride asylums. There aren’t as many left for me to share as I thought. I really should have just thrown these in with the last bunch, but oh well… (more…)

More Historical Photo Goodness

Fergus Falls State HospitalThings 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…)

Ghost Hunters at Weston

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic AsylumThe Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum is the featured location on tonight’s episode of Ghost Hunters. The show airs at 9PM on the Sci-Fi Channel. TAPS — “not your normal paranormal” investigation team — will be shown hunting hauntings in the Kirkbride. I’ve never really watched the show, but from scanning a fan forum for 30 seconds I gather TAPS is a bit more skeptical and scientific than the average paranormal investigation unit. I don’t know if that’s saying much though:) (more…)

Fergus Falls Kirkbride Tours

Fergus Falls Kirkbride
The Friends of the Kirkbride in Minnesota are extending an invitation to everyone to tour the former Fergus Falls RTC. You can read more about it here: Kirkbride is a Treasure of Architecture. Or you can just call 218-736-5328 to make a reservation. Tours are given weekly.

Speaking of Fergus Falls, check out these aerial photos somebody posted on MySpace:

Aerial Pic One
Aerial Pic Two