Monday, March 24, 2014
The Asylum was constructed in the early 1900s to treat, house and care for the insane. Just four years after it opened, they already had nearly 1,000 patients living here. The facility utilized many common treatment options of the time, including Hydrotherapy and Electro-Shock Therapy. Lobotomies were also regularly performed here, in some cases as often as forty times a year.
By the mid 1950s, the patient population was approaching 2,000 with a capacity of only half that. Facing over-crowding, the facility began administering anti-psychotic medication and the discharge rate began to keep up with admissions.
Currently, the site is active and still functioning in the same capacity it was when it began here, only now they are operating out of newer buildings. These old buildings remain on an active campus, locked up and reguarly patrolled by security.
UPDATE: Check out my brief exploration of the Diagnostics building here.
