SCOUTING
FIELD NOTES

Part II: Scouting An Abandoned Mental Asylum – A Visit To The Rockland Psychiatric Center

01/31/2011

This is Part 2 of the Scouting NY tour of Rockland State Psychiatric Hospital, a 600-acre abandoned mental asylum complex in Orangeburg, NY. Be sure to check out Part 1 here!

Construction of Rockland State Psychiatric Hospital began in 1927 on a 600-acre plot in rural Orangeburg, NY. Below, the Male Reception Building in its prime…

…and today:

Very little has changed on the complex since its construction. In most cases, it’s only the overrun foliage that gives it away as abandoned. Below, building 19 then…

…and its twin, Building 18, now:

I love little details from a bygone era, like this TV antenna…

Also hidden behind a tangle of vines…

A sign identifying the building:

During the 1930’s, Rockland State was considered one of the best planned psychiatric hospitals in the world. Its numerous facilities, including a power plant, rendered it largely self-sufficient…

I’m not 100% sure, but the power plant appeared to be in working operation the day I toured the facility (correct me if I’m wrong on this one). I love that the endless smoke tower steps originally went right down to the ground (er, seems like a bad choice for a mental asylum):

And in case you weren’t sure which building this was, a helpful sign:

In fact, during its heyday Rockland boasted a working farm and numerous industrial shops, all of which were staffed by patients. Everything from furniture to brooms were produced on location…

And though most most of the hospital complex is abandoned today, many of the old maintenance offices are still in use…

From an on-site locksmith…

…to plumbing…

…carpentry, roofing, and a tinshop…

…to electric & refrigeration:

Behind the facilities offices, a great old ramshackle building:

I’m taking a guess here, but does this squat structure remind anyone else of a bus station? It’s located in the center of the complex and would make sense as its transportation hub:

One of the most well preserved buildings is the old Administration Building…

…which best exemplifies the Mediterranean-style architecture found all over the complex (sadly, the mission tile roofs are mostly hidden by snow in my pictures):

I love the terra cotta entrance…

Also very cool: two working lanterns on either side of the door. You can just make out the faded initials RPC, or Rockland Psychiatric Center:

Very glad to see the cupola is still in great shape after all these years…

…complete with its original weathervane!

Directly across from the old administration building is one of the last working hospitals on the complex, the modern Rockland Psychiatric Center. Effort was made to match the new structure to its surroundings, but it just goes to show that the old Rockland campus is an artifact of the past.

A side door to a building…

…with a schedule I have a feeling is no longer kept (yes, of course I pressed the doorbell):

Seems like the type of sign you’d see prominently around a mental asylum…

…however, this one was just on the old basketball court, in the center of the complex:

Also, note the building behind the basketball court. Another of my favorite buildings on the campus, this one resembles a stable and especially reminds me of my travels through Spain…

Love the enormous wooden doors and lanterns overhead:

Inside another building…

…a reception area, plus a lone pentagram:

Update! As a huge H.P Lovecraft fan, I can’t believe I didn’t catch this. Luckily, reader CSCottM pointed out a way too coincidental resemblance between the pentagram…

…and Lovecraft’s infamous Elder Sign:

As CScottM points out, very appropriate for an abandoned mental asylum. The other side of the room – looks like it was in use until fairly recently:

A peek into another building…

…reveals a former cafeteria…

…also in pretty good shape.

This facilities-related structure is surrounded by a stone fence…

A crumbling urn on one of the posts:

Inside, a mess. Those look like walk-in refrigerator doors on the right – perhaps a former kitchen?

Another look inside. Would love to know the story behind that playpen…

As I was driving past a far corner of the campus, I noticed a bunch of structures.

At first, I thought they might be graves – mental asylums often had on-site cemeteries for indigent patients:

On closer inspection, they’re just picnic tables!

I’d love to know if this is a newer addition, or if hospital workers used to gather here in the 40’s and 50’s for barbecues:

Sadly, much of the Rockland staff was drafted during World War II, leaving non-qualified workers to take their place. This resulted in just 1 psychologist for every 300 patients. Infection spread, and the hospital soon became drastically overcrowded.

As many of you pointed out, the harrowing conditions were documented in The Snake Pit, written in 1946 by Mary Jane Ward and based on her experiences incarcerated at Rockland State (a movie based on the book was not filmed at Rockland).

The title, according to the dust jacket, comes from an ancient form of psychiatric treatment in which patients were thrown into actual snake pits in the hope that their sudden terror would cure their mental illness.

Though presented as a fictional tale set at the Juniper Hill Asylum, The Snake Pit documents many of the very real forms of psychiatric treatment Ward experienced during her stay at Rockland. These included hydrotherapy, in which patients were forced into baths of either scalding or freezing water, electroshock therapy, insulin shock therapy, and of course, lobotomies.

At the time, very little anesthetic was used during lobotomies; in fact, there weren’t even teeth clamps to prevent patients from biting their tongues. Surgical equipment included drills with 1-inch bits.

By 1970, Rockland was largely an outpatient facility, and with the onset of psychotropic drugs, only now services the seriously ill.

I’m glad to report that Rockland State is not in immediate danger of being razed. A reader updated me that plans to turn it into a senior citizen community fell through last year, and the town is seeking new options.

I really hope Orangeburg decides to follow in the footsteps of Traverse City, Michigan, where an abandoned state hospital was saved through its conversion to commercial and residential space.

It’s unfortunate the sun only stayed out for the first few pictures I took – Rockland is one of those places that looks great when a blue sky backgrounds its red clay roofs…and very bleak under a recent snowfall and overcast skies.

I urge you to take a walk around the campus to enjoy it for yourself someday. It’s public property, so you won’t get in trouble (though entering buildings is illegal), and it’s literally a journey back in time. I promise, your imagination is going to have a field day with this place.

Finally, a look at the windows of Rockland State. I’m always fascinated by windows at mental asylums. For untold thousands of patients, these windows offered what must have been a torturous glimpse at a freedom they could not have.

-SCOUT

PS – Much of my history came from this short 1999 piece in the NY Times, and is definitely worth a read.

Many more posts in the archives!

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denise lozeau

02/08/2011

I’m surprised there is not more mention of spirits or hauntings. I’ve seen alot of digital pictures that pic up orbs ~ spirits ~ in a way film never did. Have you seen any unexplained ‘spots’ in any of your pictures???

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Rob

02/10/2011

@denis Please, “orbs” are usually just dust on the camera lense. Any good photographer knows that.

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Kevin

02/14/2011

Thanks for the great two part series. Unfortunately it is photo essays like this that irritate me to no end when I think about the taxpayer dollars that are wasted by not finding a re-use for the facility. Sure the place has a certain “taint” as a result of its history. But since the state “paid” for this long ago, no one cares. Since the facility was never on the local property tax assessment, no one cares. While I agree that it would be great to find a developer that can re-develop via retrofitting and re-using, that is rarely possible. By the time bureaucrats make up their minds the damage is done and no one is willing to go to the trouble. Facilities such as Rockland are all over NY State; empty and decaying. Some people estimate that as a result of the decline in crime over the last 20 years and the repeal of the Rockefeller Drug laws recently; New York State will close as many as 20 correctional facilities in up state NY. Without a doubt, these facilities will suffer a similar fate.

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Stu

02/14/2011

I came across this site while randomly looking for historical pics of the facility. I am close friends with the Blaisdell family. Dr. Russel Blaisdell was the first Medical Director of the facility. His son, H. Underwood Blaisdell spent the majority of his working life at the facility, eventually becomming its Chief Administrator. He is 96 years old and is living in Georgia after retiring in 1976. He was responsible for several progressive changes to the hospital in the 1950’s & 60’s including the construction of a 9 hole golf course (yes – it was open to both patients & staff). The Blaisdell family was / is proud of their involvement with the facility. It is also an interesting fact that the first A.A. meeting to take place in a hospital setting was at Rockland State. Another interesting fact is that part of the grounds was used to house German P.O.W.s during W.W.II. Thank you for making these pics and observations available.

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1. RB
  
  08/23/2011
  
  I submitted a long reply in part 1. These responses are interesting here because some of us might know each other. In my previous post I mentioned that my father was a psychiatrist there and I grew up on the grounds. May I suggest that those with the first hand knowledge e-mail me at arby347@yahoo.com and identify who you are and maybe we can set up some online dialogue.ire
  Stu I knew the Blaisdell’s very well. The son was only in charge of the business matters of the hospital. The hospital was always run by the medical Director who Blaisdell reported to. For the whole time I was there it was Dr. Stanley. I practically lived at the golf course once it opened! All my teachers who played golf would always want to play with me as it was the only way they could get on the course. We had to pay only $15 for the entire year and had no further expenses. Blue Hills at that time cost $5 to play. I live in the Atlanta area and if Mr. B. is able I would love to talk to him. If you get this please relay contact info. I grew up with Bobbi-do you know where she is?
  
  The big building that went through the big modernization (used to be called Bldg 58) is the bldg my Dad was in charge of.
  
  Andrea I would really like to find out more about the committee to help and hear what they came up with.
  
  The identification of the bus depot and fire station is correct as well as other id’s. The barber shop was not in the bus depot but right near it. There was one big building that was actually two big floors with several entrances. The Exchange was what has been identified as the cafeteria. In there was a public cafeteria open to patients, family, and anybody else. It also had a newstand and had a store with many different items. This site shows the stairs leading to the Exchange. Going up them and to the left was an entrance to the Auditorium. This was used for movies, religious services, and concerts. The popular local “the Brothers”(Delia) performed there. Also on the second floor with its own entrances was a bowling ally and the barbershop.
  
  There were many patients who were not locked up roaming the grounds and having the choice to do many things. I was not a professional then but in today’s standards the patients who were a danger to themselves and others were locked up.
  
  Peter, you are correct about a cemetary. It was on the extreme North part of the grounds somewhere around Bldg 58 and the Fourth hole of the golf course.
  
  The nurses living quarters and maybe their classes was right near the administration building. From the main entrance it was the last building on the left before the admn building.
  
  Reply
  1. Kathy
    
    02/20/2014
    
    Dr Stanley is the one that notified my family of my grandmothers death. Do you know if I could get records from the 60’s? Or if I could find burial records from Rockland
    
    Reply
JACK R. ENGLISH

02/27/2011

& ANOTHER GOOD SITE……………..THANKS…..JACK R. ENGLISH…75…LOCATION MGR….WEST .HOLLYWOOD..(GODFATHER,PT2″, APOCLYPSE NOW’, ETC..)………….JE

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Byron G

03/27/2011

I lived at Home 26, room 90 which housed female staff. A small room maybe 8×12 with a bed, sink, tv, little frig and a hotplate. My friend at that time worked there and allowed me to stay. It was quite a small minority type city. The staff buildings had day rooms on each end used for many card games, drinking and socializing. The hospital had it’s own drug dealers,loan sharksm police and fire and of course patients. The stories I was told of the restraint procedured were frightening. Eventually I was removed and barred from the ground due a drunken brawl.. The 1970’s were a difficult time for a white man to be living with a black female. Thanks for the pix!

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Mia

04/24/2011

Wow. I loved reading both parts of this tour, the pictures just took my breath away. It’s insanely beautiful there…hehe, insanely. 😀
I’m really interested in the mentally unstable, and I would LOVE to visit a place like this. I’m starting on a book about a mental institute, and I want to be a psychiatrist when I’m older. These things really just amaze me. 🙂
Thank you for the wonderful pictures, if I ever go to New York and this building is still there, I will definitely go. I really do hope they keep it, it’s such a beautiful and historic structure.

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Andrea

05/01/2011

I worked at Rockland Psychiatric Center for almost 40 years, retiring in 2009. My 10 yr. old grand-daughter found your webpage after attending “Bring Your Child To Work Day” on this past Thursday (I still work at RPC, per diem). It was great to see the photos, especially since I want to shoot photos before everything
disappears. There is a committe formed at RPC who would like to gather some of the oral history of the hospital, before everyone is gone. My parents age 81 and 82 worked and retired from RPC. My grandmother, brother and sister also worked there. I can give you more detailed information about your phootos if you are ever interested. This was wonderful to see. Thanks for caring.

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1. Andrew
  
  01/05/2012
  
  I have a number of different questions about the operations of this hospital.
  
  Are you familiar with the methods they used on the patients at the hospital?
  
  Reply
Lisa

05/03/2011

These are amazing photos. We just found on Ancestry that there is a long lost uncle who was a resident. No one ever knew about him until I started playing around with our family tree. Two generations have gone by and this poor man died alone. So very sad.

Does anyone know where the patient records are kept?

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1. Sherry Cobbs
  
  06/06/2012
  
  I just found out my own grandfather was here as a patient at Rockland thanks to the 1940 census. I’m very saddened by this. I would love to find out more from anyone who knows anything about ROCKLAND. Please write me at sherrycobbs79@yahoo.com
  
  Reply
Lois

05/11/2011

There was no mention of the nursing school that resided in these buildings at what we called Rockland State Hospital in the 60’s. My aunt graduated as an RN in the late 50’s. We lived in Blauvelt and my parents often picked up other students for rides to church in Nyack through the 60’s. There were guards at the open gates back then. All students and staff had keys for other gates out.

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1. crydgren
  
  10/01/2011
  
  My father graduated from the Nursing school in 1960. He worked there as a nurse administrator (night shift) until he retired in 1984. My mom worked there as well. She used to bring patients home for dinner or an afternoon picnic at our house. We used to play tennis on the grounds.
  
  Reply
Bruce

05/16/2011

Anybody remember a black guy named big Al that used to work there in the min 70’s? I think he passed alway around 1979 of cancer. He was such a nice guy.

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Rex

06/01/2011

Very nice pictures. I am a current employee of Rockland Psychiatric Center and it really is incredible to walk around the abandoned buildings. I may have missed it in your pictures but did you find the abandoned bowling alley? Also of interest, there is a network of underground tunnels connecting every building so that patients and staff would never have to go outside in inclement weather. They are completely locked up though. Only a few of the older employees even know where the entrances are and even fewer have keys to access them.

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TJM

06/26/2011

I used to cut through Rockland State Hospital in the early 80’s to beat curfew. Kind of scary. There is a Catholic Church on the property and my Mom still attends mass every Sunday. My dad played on the nine hole golf course for many years.

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Jeff Shumate

08/17/2011

You asked for some input from “Locals”. I grew up across the street on Derfuss Lane, from around 1953 on. A few observations, the building you said looked like a bus stop? It was, buses to the city and surrounding areas. They also had a barber shop in there, where I got my hair cut. When I walked over I used to have to check in to the guard gate, I was always afraid they would keep me in there. As I walked by, there were people in the “porches” area out front and they would yell at me, crazy stuff. The power plant was coal powered and the coal train used to come right by our house along with the dalmatian dog and waves from the engineer. They had cabbage farms where the children’s unit is now and sometimes didn’t harvest the crop and what a stink that was. They also had their own sewage plant with huge fountains of water shooting up like a water show in Las Vegas.

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1. Cree
  
  07/14/2014
  
  One of the RPC barbers was my cousin. He worked there for many years.
  
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Brian

08/17/2011

This photo – http://www.flickr.com/photos/scoutingny/5386146816/ was the Firehouse. RPC had their own fire department. Here is a photo of one of their old trucks outside the firehouse bay door – http://signal-12.com/apparatus/rockland_state/34-1000_1955_WLF.jpg

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Alice Jean Fimbres

08/24/2011

I worked at Rockland State Hospital from the age of 18 until I was 23. I worked in cafeteria 13 for three years before being promoted to kitchen supervisor of building 32. My parents and several siblings also worked there. My parents retired from Rockland in the 60’s. Thank you for the stroll down memory lane.

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DF

09/30/2011

I worked two summers at the school. Remember getting my set of skeleton keys that would open the heavy doors. For the past 40 years whenever someone has said “I’ll lock you in” I always think of that heavy door shutting and the sound of the keys.

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Jim

10/01/2011

Great Site! You are correct the building that looked like a bus stop is actually the bus stop that was used until a couple of years ago. To the east of that is the building that housed the auditorium and bowling alley. The cemetery is located on Blaisdale Rd just off the main campus (south of the campus) entering NJ. There was recently an article in the Journal News about fixing the cemetery up http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011109300337.
I have a special fondness for the center, Dad was a baker and Mom was a student nurse and that is where they met over 51 years ago. I also worked in the Safety Department (police and fire department). Thanks for the stroll down memory lane.
FYI – there are a lot of break ins for the copper wiring used in the buildings

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Ian

10/05/2011

Hello Scott.. If you ever read this let it be known that whae i worked there I was able to see what most didn’t.. there is also a maze under ground connecting all the buildings some halls used for lines from the power station and others had rooms still with the shackle rings on the wall.. If you get a chance go back and see if you can gain access to the underground,,

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Michael

10/28/2011

For the record, the building with the large “stable” doors is the old firehouse. Yes, the self-sufficient asylum had its own fire company. The powerplant is no longer in operation, yes you can through some coal down there and try, but the most it will do is huff and puff, seeing how the only operating buildings are on the grid. You left out the chapel building too. If you really want a scare, there are tunnels that connect all of the buildings together, which supposedly is where a lot of experimenting took place.

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