Sanatorium in Bloom
This ivy-wrapped sanatorium began its
life over 100 years ago as tuberculosis treatment facility. It
operated as such into the 1950's, at which point the discovery of
streptomycin made treatment of the disease much easier, and
subsequently negated the need for full-fledged TB facilities. Like
many other such centers throughout the country, this sanatorium then
saw itself re-purposed as a psychiatric hospital in the years
following. Though the building which we filmed has long since been
left to rot, the entirety of the campus itself was only recently (and
controversially) shuttered.
Our journey began in a craggy and
washed out ditch that twists and turns downhill and into the forest.
A forest that is home to far more thorned bushes than trees. Many of
these bushes have barbs like needles, so long and thin that they may
pierce your flesh without you so much as knowing you had been
touched. That is, until you feel the sensation of a warm and moist
trickle running down your leg. Then shortly after that, the burning
of sweat as it enters the tiny gashes, alerting you to the fact that
there are far more wounds upon your limbs than you had initially
thought.
After some time trekking through the
stinging underbrush, we arrived at the building. A place so entangled
in vines and overrun with plant-life that one, if not paying
attention, may walk right past thinking it a massive bush. Gazing
upon it as a whole, it really is quite amazing how overwhelming
nature can be when presented with something artificial - Which in
this case happens to be a four-story hospital ward. These countless
plants have, through time, attached themselves solidly to the
exterior walls. Seeing all the exposed roots clinging upon the smooth
man-made surface of the old hospital conjures thoughts of tightly
wrapping tentacles grasping out from some giant sea-dwelling
creature, constricting upon the hull of a massive ship.
Within the foliage-hidden walls of this
ward, things were no less green. Moss and sprouting plants had come
to live here, nested in the fertile soil which is now the flooring
throughout a majority the building. Plentiful and varied insect life
can be found here as well, crawling across desk tops, and repeatedly
flying into window panes. We believed we had left the forest behind
us when we entered here, however the rooms and hallways said otherwise, and their message was apparent - Things, no matter how
grand, are never more than temporary.
Some surprisingly beautiful blooming trees have encroached upon the old hospital.
The long-disused basement laboratory.
The decaying plaster has made many of the hallways here appear to have dirt floors.