I spotted the roofline of what looked to be a Romanesque and Gothic castle recently, and after a search on Google Maps, I found out what this large, majestic building was.
Closed decades ago, it is now low-income apartments. I had trouble getting a good shot, but you can see a more proficient view of the entire building
here.
Owned by the
Daughters of Charity, the asylum began downtown and moved out to what was then the country in the 1890's. Read more about the building from its
National Register nomination.
The Daughters of Charity also ran nearby
Marillac College, which I featured earlier this year, which is due north of the old hospital, across what is now St. Vincent's Park, which I suspect was owned by the Sisters as well.
I found it interesting that there is the
1930 Census on file for the hospital, or as they called it back then, a sanitarium.
I was saddened about the current condition of the building, which is beginning to show the age of its renovation in the early 1980's.
Likewise, it is isolated, up a narrow suburban street, and I wonder about its long term viability. We talked to a couple of residents, and they were not happy with their living conditions.
I spotted the roofline of what looked to be a Romanesque and Gothic castle recently, and after a search on Google Maps, I found out what this large, majestic building was.
Closed decades ago, it is now low-income apartments. I had trouble getting a good shot, but you can see a more proficient view of the entire building here.
Owned by the Daughters of Charity, the asylum began downtown and moved out to what was then the country in the 1890's. Read more about the building from its National Register nomination.
The Daughters of Charity also ran nearby Marillac College, which I featured earlier this year, which is due north of the old hospital, across what is now St. Vincent's Park, which I suspect was owned by the Sisters as well.
I found it interesting that there is the 1930 Census on file for the hospital, or as they called it back then, a sanitarium.
I was saddened about the current condition of the building, which is beginning to show the age of its renovation in the early 1980's.
Likewise, it is isolated, up a narrow suburban street, and I wonder about its long term viability. We talked to a couple of residents, and they were not happy with their living conditions.
There was a recent thread about this complex on the Underground Ozarks site.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, one of the threats parents used to use was "We're going to put you in St. Vincent's if you don't behave!" Of course, they were referring to the St. Vincent's Orphan Home just North of Natural Bridge (still serving kids).
And an often-heard lament from Mom was "You kids are going to put me in St. Vincent's." We couldn't figure out why we would put her in an ORPHANS' home - until we found out about the OTHER St. Vincent's! Of course "...on Arsenal Street" was also often heard...
We used to sneak around here after school sometimes to catch a look at the "crazy" people. How insensitive we were back in the early 1970s. But what we did often hear are screams - earth shattering screams. I vowed then and there I would NEVER go crazy. /We didn't know what in the world was going on inside those walls.
ReplyDelete