Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Abandoned Creedmoor


From Huffington Post:

When Creedmoor was founded in 1912, its most effective cures were thought to be fresh air and physical labor. Yet as time passed the patient count exploded, rising from 150 in 1918 to over 7,000 in 1960.

Not surprisingly the facility became far less idyllic than it once was, morphing into a legendary hell hole with hygiene levels plummeting to unthinkable lows.

"By the latter years of the 19th century, they had already become bywords for squalor and negligence, and were often run by inept, corrupt, or sadistic bureaucrats -- a situation that persisted through the first half of the 20th century," neurologist Oliver Sacks wrote in a book on Creedmoor's devolution.

After a dysentery outbreak in the 1940s, the hospital came under examination. By the 1970s Creedmore was out of control, tallying rapes, assaults, suicides and shootings that took place under its roof. After a police investigation in 1974, the center reduced its patient count significantly, ultimately closing Building 25. The structure itself is still standing there to this day, however, remaining as an ominous reminder of when "problem people" were simply locked away.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

My mom spent time here in the 80s and they did her more harm than good. They abused her.....it took the doctor a lot of time to get my mom out of this place. This place is the worst! Finally, they found the right combination of drugs for her when she went to NY Presbyterian... after 6 weeks she was cured meanwhile she spent 6 months in credmore and they only made her worst! Thank goodness for nyp!

Anonymous said...

We don't need Creedmoor anymore. We got Queens "burro" Hall.

Look at all of the crazy things that go on there!

Anonymous said...

It was a notorious snake pit in the 60s.
I used to volunteer there then.

Anonymous said...

The place should be torn down and the ground salted...

Anonymous said...

Turn it into a high tech business and learning center like in Silicon Valley.
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.

Anonymous said...

Creedmoor was originally a farm owned by the Creed family. In the early 1870's the NRA and NY State bought acquired the land and turned it into an internationally known rifle range. By the 1890's the area was developing and the local were complaining about the shooting and accompanying noise. The NRA deeded the land to the state and moved to NJ. The land remained a range through the 1890's into the early 1900's and in about 1912 the Brooklyn hospital for the insane took over the site.

If you go around the site today you will find than some of the streets are have kept their NRA assigned names: Winchester Blvd., Range St., Musket St., Seward Ave., Etc.

Anonymous said...

The entire complex needs to come down, especially that 1950s yellow brick tower building. Eyesore from day one.

Anonymous said...

I heard that it may be converted into condos!

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