Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center or Pilgrim State Hospital, Long Island New York. A special "On The Road" blog.

 


                                 This is a special edition of the SWPA Blog.
Here at The SWPARE blog, we try to explore and chronicle the local aspects of South Western Pennsylvania and the close by areas, and we usually like don't like to stray from this ideal, but occasionally we stumble upon something out of the immediate area that deserves to be blogged about, and this is the case here.   We've been planning on making another site just for these types of places, but Chip and I (Danielle is the only responsible one), are sort of the kings of procrastination. 

     I'm up here working on a project in Commack Long Island, NY,  and I needed a few beers to watch the Steeler game on (see, there is a SWPA connection here), I pulled up the Bing Maps to research this important topic and saw THIS.  Directly across from the hotel, so I could not resist a side trip.

     I walked on over and was greeted my a few signs.

     A block up, this.

     Like most signs, I took this as a suggestion only and continued on, as it was an early Sunday and I looked harmless. 


>>Small side bar, when I got back and researched this place, I ran across this BLOG in which the author describes a run in w/ police and them destroying some of his film and erasing his camera.<<


     Apparently, this Pilgrim State Hospital, opened in 1931, was once the largest of its type in the world.  You can read the details HERE.


     They still use this facility on a greatly downsized measure now, but by looking at the above linked BING map, you can see how large this place once was.   The following pictures show a few of the remaining original buildings.   I only had the cell phone camera w/ me, and the sun wasn't w/ me, so some of the pictures aren't the best, sorry.


      Enjoy.

   

Brick Water Tower

Inside Water Tower

Debris Field from razed buildings

Empty tree lined streets

Looking up into the water tower

     So, after I posted this, did some more research and found the cemetery's location....took these shots and some video.  I was sort of amazed at just how large it actually was.  I read 10 acres.  If you died, and no one claimed you, you wound up here.  It was said that at least one patient died every day here.

OCTOBER 2 2011 Update.....

     So I went out for a run this morning and stumbled across the abandoned power generating station for the hospital.  It is a giant complex, basically all boarded up, but there were a few holes.......

Uh Oh....time to go!

Bike ride on the Greene County PA Rails to Trails

A blog viewer request of the Greene County Rails to Trails.

Greene County Hill Old Iron Bridge at Greene Cove, Greene County/Washington County at RT.88

A quick video I shot a few days ago.  More bridge deconstruction shots coming in the future.

Pitt Gas, PA Swinging Bridge and a visit to the Joseph Albert "Jock" Yablonski house in Clarksville, PA

       As I was going through the older blog posts tonight, I noticed this one video tucked into this  older post dealing w/ a downed helicopter crash at the former Nemacolin Mine site.  A few people have asked me about this old bridge and an equal number of folks asked about the Yablonski house as well, so I felt compelled to repost this video in a separate blog.  Forgive my misuse of the word "turgid". 

Bumper sticker chip found at the Nemacolin mine.

I found the original story in the 1970 OBSERVER REPORTER here.

The New Bridge at Denbo PA for the Mon–Fayette Expressway PA Turnpike 43

   

     If you are from the Monongahela river valley area, no doubt you know about the Mon-Fayette Expressway.    Perhaps you have driven on sections even.  High speed surface transport from route 68 near Morgantown WV to Pittsburgh (well, close to), through Fayette, Washington and Allegheny Counties.  Slowly it is coming together, thanks to the recent opening of the WV portion, this widely unused expressway has always sort of interested me.  

     As a young spud commuting to California University Of Pa, I remember coming off the 2 lane Low Hill area of Rt. 88  and suddenly the road opened up into nearly 2 mile expanse of 4 lane divided highway that ended basically as quickly as it began.  I remember coming down the hill and entering this mainly deserted 4 lane stretch.  I would push the silver Chevy Chevette I was driving then at copious  rates of speed down the centerline of the north bound lane, imagining I was landing the Space Shuttle on some giant runway, then the timing belt broke and left me stranded, but I digress.


     From what I was told back then, the road had been in the planning stages for years and this 4 lane, 2 mile stretch was completed in the early 1980's.  At the cloverleaf near Brownsville, you'd exit this strip and if you looked further north, you would see the barricades placed where the road ended into farmers fields.  Here, you would enter RT. 40 and continue to Brownsville, PA.    Continue down 40 towards Uniontown, PA and you would cross the Lane Bane Bridge, built surprisingly (to me), way back in 1960 as part of then the proposed Mon-Fayette Expressway.  Enter modern times and now the expressway is open as part of the PA Turnpike system, and the bridge is finally now realizing its special purpose.  The problem is, this bridge empties  into the outskirts and near wastelands of Brownsville and you have to go through a few blocks of traffic lights.  Not very express at an, indeed. 


     If you have traveled in this area in the past few years, you've no doubt noticed all sorts of construction in this area as the state is working on a solution.  Roads have been resurfaced, moved, built and rerouted to eliminate that pesky Brownsville problem.  

    Enter Denbo.


     Denbo, PA, an old patch town that was the housing for the once mighty Vesta 6 mine (now completely gone) was the site chosen where the expressway would now cross the Mon.  Last year I started visiting this site to document this bridge building project.   On my first visit, I took my bike w/ me and parked down by the derelict Pechins Marina and rode up to the construction area.  Being a Saturday, I thought it would be free of workers but I was wrong.  Turned out to not be a problem as I biked past the skeleton crew working that day as they either just disregarded me or gave casual waves.  As construction progresses, I will update this page w/ new images of the progress.

On the hill above the resurfaced area of 88

Another view.

The underside of the ramp/bridge leading to the Denbo bridge, crossing 88

Another view

On the ramp/bridge

From this ramp, where the expressway crosses RT.88, I headed to the bridge site.

Where the road ends and the bridge begins

Gratuitous blog author shot

Denbo.  Funny how these little patch towns look so scenic and picturesque from afar

Fayette County side

After I took the above shots, I headed on down the hill into the town itself.  The below pictures were taken in the fall of 2010.

Looking on the Fayette side

The playground in the foreground is where Vesta 6 stood.

     A few weeks ago, Danielle, Remy and myself stopped by to check out the progress from the past visit 10 months ago.  Note how the spans have grown.  This bridge is typical of bridge construction of this era.  Functional and utilitarian.  There are no trusses needed and I feel that takes away something.  On a side note, the new bridge at Point Marion, PA, veered from this new formula of bridge building, as it actually looks rather old.  The pictures below are from July 2011.

Note how much the bridge has grown in 10 months

     Work looks to be progressing quickly and I'd guess it will be open for traffic in less then 2 years.  


     Pictures will be added every few months, so check back again.


Just took these December 31, 2011.....

This is from March, 2012

And in 2020