August 16th, 2012
Greystone Photo Album circa 1899
You like old photos of Kirkbride buildings, right? Dumb question? Well anyway, I’m sure you’ll love these pictures of Greystone Park from 1899 or so. Somebody recently sent me the link to the collection which is owned and presented by the Morristown Library. Some highlights below.
- The New Jersey State Hospital
- Walks in Front of Hospital
- View of Male Wing
- Administrative Building
- Female Wing and Administrative Building
- Main Entrance
- Main Entrance (different than above)
- Corridor
- Manager’s Room
- Pathological Laboratory
- Medical Staff
- Fancy Dress Ball
- Amusement Hall
- Training School
- Chapel
- Alcove in Ward
- Ward Corridor
- Infirmary Ward
- Laundry
- Main Kitchen
- Boiler House
- The Park
- Distant View of Hospital
I was especially happy to see that these photos were from before the roofline was altered, and that there are a few interior spaces which look very much like they still do today.
Man what a awesome find! I wish every state hospital had stuff like this out there. It would make it a lot easier than searching through countless “annual reports”, etc. hoping for a few nice historical photos!
…also this might seem trivial, but I am really likeing whatever font they used in the album. It’s really unique and I’ve never see one like it before!
You know, I almost added a comment about the font to my post, but then decided it wasn’t pertinent enough to mention. But I do like that font a lot too.
It looks as if the words are hand-written. If so, I wonder if it’s an actual font, or just someone’s very decorative handwriting. It should be made into a font if it’s the latter.
was it just me or did the alcove arches seem less round then versus now?
If I remember correctly, not all the alcoves have that curved arch you’re thinking of. I don’t have time to go through all my photos, but I seem to remember some alcoves look pretty much just like the one in that old photo.
My dad was a patient at Greystone fr. 1950s-1970s. My mother had him locked up, and they threw away the key! I went there a couple times every month to visit him for many years. There is an underground tunnel system. I went down there many times with my parents. There were also quite a few dairy cows at one time, that I got to see.
My dad was in a locked-up ward, and they gave him shock therapy quite a few times. The other male patients scared the hell out of me! My mother still has nightmares about going there. It was a classic hell hole. It really makes me sad to think lots of people spent their whole lives there, including my dad. The real bummer thing is, my dad was crazy, but my 2 bros and I lived with my mom. She was sooo abusive, she should’ve been the one locked up way more than him; we 3 little kids were in a hell-hole of our own, living with her- he used to be the one to save us from her- until she had him carted away by the cops!