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Hoover Dam, Nevada-Arizona USA :

Hoover Dam, Nevada-Arizona USA

Worcester State Hospital - Insane Asylum & Clock Tower : Also once known as the Worcester Lunatic Asylum and the Bloomingdale Asylum, this psychiatric facility's history dates back to before the main building was built.

On January 12, 1833, the old Worcester Insane Asylum opened, and was the first of it's kind built in the state of Massachusetts. When overcrowding became a problem, a new hospital was to be built - a massive structure laid out in the Kirkbride plan.

Construction began in 1870 and the newly built Worcester State Hospital opened seven years later. Designed by architect Ward P. Delano of the firm Fuller & Delano of Worcester, the flagstone and brick building stood four stories tall, and between the 500 foot wings stood a beautiful clock tower, looming above the administration building. The building seems to reflect more of a prison complex in the styles, layout, and sheer size of the institution. On an interesting note, Sigmund Freud visited the hospital in 1909 during his only trip to America.

A massive fire engulfed the Kirkbride building on July 22, 1991, destroying almost all of the roof and floors, save for the right most wing and the administration building. The burned out shells of the other areas were bulldozed and the extra stone was used to seal up the gaping holes left by the connections to the remaining sections.

The hospital still functions as a psychiatric facility in a large, newer building near the Kirkbride, which now threatens to be closed as well.

*Update* After years of sitting vacant, much of the former complex is slated for the wrecking ball to make way for a new 300-bed, $278 million state psychiatric hospital, according to Kevin P. Flanigan, a deputy director of the state Division of Capital Asset Management.

Worcester State Hospital - Insane Asylum & Clock Tower

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