Saturday, August 17, 2013

Abandoned Asylum...

This beautiful place has a storied history, but not necessarily a ghastly one, for an asylum or sanitarium or whatever you would like to call it.  When one hears the word "sanitarium" one thinks of people wandering the halls and grounds in a zombie-like state with a multitude of mental in-capacities.

This was a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients in the early 20th Century run by Catholic nuns.  Yes, I'm sure there was suffering here, but also healing and hope.

The naturally fed spring waters on the grounds were thought to be healing and people came from all over.  In the mid-20th century Hollywood stars and relatives haunted the halls looking for relief from alcohol addiction when the nuns expanded their focus of healing.

Here are some shots from a rare look inside and around the grounds that was abandoned at various times in the last part of the 1980's and 90's.



































































www.sauterphoto.com