June 5th, 2009
Hospital Artifacts
Here’s some really fascinating footage of the Oregon State Hospital J-Building being torn down. I don’t advocate smoking pot, but I think sparking up a J may be the only way you’re going to get through all 38 minutes and 57 seconds of this video. So why am I including it here? I feel bad about not posting more often and this seems like a fast and easy way to make it look like I’m still providing value for your money. Plus it gives me a chance to engage in some clever word play (J-Building… sparking up a J… get it?)
Sorry. Anyway, I found this gem embedded in an article about demolition of the J-Building. I thought it worth noting that there’s a good chance the State of Oregon will allow the public to collect bricks from the demolition as souvenirs, or for putting down a walkway in your garden if you’re one of those weird people who’s more into gardening than exploring or researching asylums.
In semi-related news, a date has been set for the auction of surplus items from the former Fergus Falls State Hospital. The auction will be held on July 7th, 2009. (That’s a Tuesday in case you’re wondering.) Items up for auction will include office supplies, tools, furniture and medical equipment from the former hospital.
So if you live around Fergus Falls, Minnseota or Salem, Oregon you may very soon have a chance to get your hands on a genuine piece of asylum history. If anyone goes to the auction and gets something particularly interesting, please let me know. I’ll be interested to hear about it.
thats horrible about fergus falls and i always hate it when these hospitals are torn down. at least their building another hospital there instead of housing like they do here in mass!
here are some more photos of the j building being demoed
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixieduster74/sets/72157616645081812/
and this guy looks like he took the tour i think
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronni/sets/72157609128797120/
Nice pictures. The colors in the set at the second link are intense.
I was at the auction yesterday. It was interesting to walk through the buildings, but the auction wasn’t very well put together.
I think a lot of the original items from the hospital were either still in the buildings or were removed years ago by the state of MN. Otherwise, it was a lot of tools and equipment interspersed with very few historical items of note.
I scored an original book of rules and regulations printed at the facility in 1900 _and_ a binder full of floor plans for the entire facility. Granted, I was bummed to find out that someone had removed the pages related to the extensive tunnel system underneath the hospital. Such is life.
Sorry to hear it was a semi-disappointing experience. I heard rumors that all the really cool and interesting historical stuff got “looted” a while back. I guess there may have been something to those rumors.
Definitely some basis to the rumors. Do tell. It would be interesting to know what happened to everything. I know that there was a library with several thousand volumes in it, but the auction contained no more than a few boxes of worthless law books.
It was also maddening to see the buildings in the early stages of intentional municipal neglect. Almost everything was still in salvageable condition and clean.
A couple more years of unrepaired roof holes and lack of heat will doom that place.
You can witness some speculation about the looting going on in the comments section of this article:
http://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/2009/may/04/city-selling-rtc-artifacts/
There are contrary opinions/statements so who knows what really happened. I can believe that there was at least some looting or “souvenir” taking though. I think it would be almost unbelievable if there hadn’t been any at all.
Sounds about right. I normally read the articles from my old hometown paper, but must have missed that one. I figured the state of MN took most of the good stuff years ago and auctioned it off in Minneapolis…but I have a feeling that the city employees who had access to the buildings took quite a bit for themselves. Hopefully a lot of the significant stuff was given to the local historical society.