Asylum for the Insane

There’s a photo hanging on my bedroom wall of an old wheelchair in front of a barred window. Most people assume it’s one of mine, because it looks like a shot I’d take. But it’s not my photo. My husband’s grandmother took it years ago when she snuck in to shoot a roll of film at this abandoned asylum.

I see that photo every morning when I wake up, and every night before I go to bed. It inspires in me three very important thoughts. First, it pushes me to be a better photographer. It’s a reminder to constantly strive for the ideal composition, exposure, to never stop learning. Second, it reminds me to make time to photograph from the heart. Life is short. If you’re not going after what intrigues you, then don’t bother. And last, it emphasizes the importance of always, always looking beyond the surface.

BUILDING ONE  My mother-in-law worked at this psychiatric hospital through its closure in 1996. Her stories ran through my head as I took in the vast, dark hallways and patient quarters. The rooms still held signs of life; floral curtains and paintings. All little indicators of the personalities they once contained.

REC CENTER  This was the entertainment center. It had a theater in the main room, and a gym and bowling alley in the basement.

HOSPITAL  This was a medical and surgical building. I found the OR, but it’s nothing more than an empty room now. It’s been fairly well kept. It’s still partly in use today, with former patient rooms serving as dormitories for those training to become part of the Dept. of Corrections. The still-functioning section of the active campus includes a prison for drug and alcohol related crimes.

THE MORGUE  The morgue was small, with a single autopsy table and just two storage coolers. Most patients died of known natural causes, so the necessity for autopsy was rare. It was hot in there, and it smelled like formaldehyde.

STAFF RESIDENCE  I shot two former residencies on the property. One was a sprawling old superintendent’s mansion with numerous, beautifully detailed rooms. I spent most of my time in the attic and basement.

THE CEMETERY  I ended with a stop at the cemetery. Over 5,000 patients are buried at this site. Instead of headstones, you look out over what could easily be mistaken for several acres of a muddy, overgrown field. There are flat stone markers half-obscured under the tall grass. No names, no dates. Just numbers in the dirt. A potter’s field.