Danvers State Hospital, too scary for Halloween

Anyone driving north of the city has seen now-shuttered Danvers State Hospital sitting atop its lonely hill, bleak and majestic and spooky. I have a story in this morning's Globe North about artist Michael Ramseur, a social worker whose obsession with the facility over the last two decades-plus has produced three books and dozens of large-format pastels depicting the facility at its scary Gothic utmost. I think the original story idea was tied to Halloween, but what I learned was almost too tragic: The giant building constructed to provide an 1800s notion of enlightened care turned terrible bedlam by overcrowding and underbudgeting in the 20th century. Then in the 1960s and '70s, abuses revealed, the place was gradually depopulated, the patients turned in many cases to the streets or inadequate local care. And finally, in the last decade, the magnificent central building was gutted, two-thirds demolished, and made the centerpiece of a hilltop condo development, complete with pool and barbecue area. See Ramseur's pictures here.

Image: "Heavy Metal Entry" c. Michael Ramseur

Comments

[Ethan]

Even more sad is that there were three other magnificent asylum buildings in Massachussets like the one in Danvers, each with its own version of the optimistic turned tragic storyline. Within the last 20 years, they've all been either completely or partially demolished. You can learn more about them (and other such buildings around the US) on my web site: http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com

Ramseur's artwork is definitely worth seeing in person if you have the chance. He did a great job of capturing the Danvers hospital's mysteriously haunting side.