March 25th, 2008
Signs of Life/Death at Worcester
Yesterday, Wormtown Taxi posted photos of the new fence at Worcester. Signs of the imminent destruction are beginning to appear more ominous.
I was at Worcester State Hospital this past Saturday and the fence was already up then. It must have been put up last week. My heart sank as I approached. You can see the chain link shining in the sun all the way down from Route 9. It runs all along the edge of the property, almost right up to the street in some parts. The road behind the wards is basically closed too.
You can’t really walk the grounds anymore. I didn’t even bother to take any pictures. Sad, sad, sad…
You are very definately seeing signs at Worcester. The old buildings are being replaced, with a new high tech state hopsital taking shape on the grounds. WBSH will be closing and all operations will be held in Worcester.
Yeah, I know. There’s a picture of the proposed complex on the forum.
Overall I believe it’s a good thing that the state is investing in a new hospital. But it’s unfortunate that most of what’s left of the historic Kirkbride building is being destroyed.
I was committed to Traverse City State Hospital in 1961, for a Disability that was treated like Leprosy back then.
Man……..does this site bring back memories, I was around 7 years old.
I’m glad you found the site M. Feel free to tell us about any memories of TCSH you’re comfortable with sharing on the forum.
hi,
I have not read anything about the many
tunnels under and on the property?
there are a very many of them.
does anyone know of a map for all
the tunnels,
since very small my father was employed
at Worcester for 30 yrs, i remember while he was working i would get lost in them.
he was a fireman in the huge boiler rooms. so i did get to see alot
of what most people didnt.
many days were spent in the sixties and 70’s and some 80’s
it was quite fun and sometimes scary
the tunnels.
I went to a training at WSH today and during our lunchbreak went for a walk around one of my favorite campuses. I am sad to report that all but two of the old WSH buildings are gone. I knew it was coming, but it was still quite a shock to see them gone and replaced by a construction site; the foundations of WSH v.3.. One small silver lining: the Clock Tower building and the round Hooper structure remain. I talked with one of the construction workers who said that the fate of those two is basically in limbo. there are no immediate plans to demolish them, but there are also no funds available to restore them. the cost to do so is astronomical. So, hopefully the money will be found at some point in the future before they either fall down or need to come down for safety reason. I’ll try to get so recent photos, depressing as the site now is :(.