Historic Asylums
Danvers State Hospital |
This site cannot be easily seen at this time. Putnam Lane to the southwest and the industrial park to the south- east offer partial, very distant views. Do NOT trespass: security on this now privately-owned site is taken very seriously. Taking a trip to see DSH is not recommended: there is too little to see. Click here for map. |
In Brief:
Preservation Alert, Mid-April 2006:
Demolition is well under way at the Danvers complex. Many buildings are already gone, as well as parts of the Kirkbride building. The plan by the developer Avalon Bay is to leave only the center tower of the Kirkbride, and the wings leading immediately off to the sides of it. Please visit Danvers State Insane Asylum for updates and a site map.
Prior to commencement of demolition in 2006, the site included:
There are many web sites concerning this place. Some of the notable ones are:
Excerpted from "A Visit to Danvers State Hospital"
by Joseph Morales, from A Short History of Lovecraftian New England, by permission.As you emerge from the trees you get a distant view of a huge, sprawling brick building, surrounded by tall dead grass. Closer inspection and circumambulation reveals a venerable and somewhat menacing ivy-covered structure with long, iron-barred windows and many pointed towers and peaked gables. As I wandered around, the insects in the grass kept up a long continuous chorus like the droning in a madman's skull.
On the way out, I had some difficulty locating the entrance to the path again, as it is partly obscured by the trees. The famous refrain kept running through my mind-
You can check out any time you like,
But you can never leave . . .
Photo credit for recent color photos on this page (or linked below): Massachusetts Film Office, by permission.
More Images
Images from Historic Postcards (Click on them to see larger views):
