Past explorations of a hand full of abandoned insane asylums has sparked an interest in the man who created them, and in more explorations of other institutions around the country but thus far I have only been able to explore the ones in Ma.

Doing a bit of research I found information on Dr. Thomas Kirkbride,

Interest in the buildings, and folklore surrounding them, ghost stories and what have you, I got ahold of some friends and an asbestos removal company called around and played phone-tag for months, finally I gained legal access to a couple hospitals in the area, Still waiting on Worcester and Danvers, Not much interest in Danvers as there are enough photos of the place floating around as it is, although I would like to personally tour what's left of the inside, It just isn't worth cutting through the entanglement of red tape to get access to it right now. Taunton interests me as there aren't many images of the inside, It isn't as spectacular to look at from the outside but I hear there are some amazing architectural tid-bits just itching for an artsy greyscale photo to be taken. :)

~Dr. Thomas S. Kirkbride~

Kirkbride buildings are named after Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride, a nineteenth-century physician who authored a treatise on hospital design. This treatise and Dr. Kirkbride's other writings had a far-reaching influence on the construction of hospitals for the mentally ill from the eighteen-fifties through the eighteen-eighties. Kirkbride buildings are most recognizably characterized by their somewhat unique "bat wing" floorplan and their often lavish Victorian-era architecture.

Above Copied from KirkbrideBuildings.com, an interesting site about an interesting man.

Below are some clickable images and information.

(Postcards on this page were found via google image search.)

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Here are some buildings in my area, most I've been to/in.

~Danvers State Hospital~

 

A Danvers State postcard.

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~Taunton State Hospital~

There are a few Kirkbride buildings in this image.

 

A Taunton State postcard.

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~North Hampton State Hospital~

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~Worcester State Hospital~

If you are observant, you will note that most of the building is GONE...

Here's an outline of what's missing, the Kirkbride style is semetrical typically, Note the round house to the left and you will get an idea of how much is actually NOT there, It had been torn down due to damage it sustained in a fire, photos of this damage can be found here The photos were taken from the common wealth of MA archive.

Must have been one hell of a fire.

Here is a better look, obtained from KirkbrideBuildings.com

 

A few Worcester State postcards.

 

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More to come... keep an eye out.

MORE Photos from the above places in the PHOTOS section of my website under ARTISTIC.

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