Mother Nature Is Reclaiming This Shuttered Hospital In Pennsylvania And It's Beyond Eerie
Sophia
Author
This structure in Brownsville, Pennsylvania is decaying in a beautiful way. Originally operating as a general hospital, the massive complex was abandoned over 30 years ago due to federal investigations into the living conditions at the facility. Today, it’s a beautiful ruin.
The hospital was born in 1908 out of Brownsville’s need for a place to treat “those injured in accidents in the coal mines, coke ovens, railroads, and other industrial enterprises.” The hospital was one of the first in the area to treat patients regardless of “race, sect or creed.”
The cost to build the hospital was just about $170,000, raised through community fundraising efforts. The facility actually began admitted patients in 1914 – before it was fully constructed.
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A nurses’ home was also built on the premises, which could house 40 nurses at a time. It originally included only ten bedrooms and two libraries, but was eventually expanded to feature a gymnasium, sewing room, trunk room, and even a demonstration room.
In the 1960s, the community acknowledged that there was a problem with their beloved hospital. The facility only had 100 beds, but it was operating at a rate of 99.5% capacity. That was far above the state requirement that hospitals never operate at more than 80% capacity. Even more troubling, it was typical for a patient at the hospital to have to wait days for even critical surgery.
In 1965, the original hospital structure was converted to a home for the elderly. It became the Golden Age Nursing Home. Less than 20 years later, two women who were interested in housing a relative at the facility reported that the conditions they had witnessed in just 15 minutes inside the home were appalling. Federal agencies stepped in, and the home was closed in 1985.
Today, the building looks like something from a horror movie set. Much of the original furniture remains, and the vintage marble mantels and ornaments are still intact.
This is truly an amazing modern ruin.
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