Journalist albert deutsch of the new york star also gave a firsthand account of the hellish scenes he witnessed during his visit to philadelphias state mental hospital in his book, the shame of the states. Select next to view photographs taken inside the institution for this state report. Construction for a large asylum complex was in progress from 1910 to the mid1920s, which included several dormitories, an infirmary, kitchens, laundry. Oct 31, 2012 yet even during this period, the institution was still underfunded and understaffed, leading to further exposes, this time from life magazine in 1946 and again in 1951. The institution began as a small work farm for the mentally ill. Byberry was at first a mischievous lark for philadelphia resident john webster, but it became an obsession. Yet even during this period, the institution was still underfunded and understaffed, leading to further exposes, this time from life magazine in 1946 and again in 1951. Back in the 1950s when it was started it was not done just for philadelphia, it was done on a national scale. Terrible conditions, neglect and patient abuse, followed by a shortterm, very public reform movement, is how jones describes it in an email. It was home to people ranging from the mentally challenged to the criminally insane. Much of athens lunatic asylum has been absorbed into ohio university, but traces of the abandoned mental institution linger, including its cemetery. Byberrys long goodbye philadelphia state hospital byberry. The philadelphia state hospital at byberry was a psychiatric hospital located in the byberry neighborhood of northeast philadelphia in pennsylvania the institution began as a small work farm for the mentally ill. Since it closed its doors in 1990, the notorious asylum has decayed, leaving behind a morbid, intricate skeleton.
A ll state institutions were really horrible places, but byberry was probably the worst, says retired activist mary hurtig, former policy director of the mental. Finally, on june 21, 1990, after decades of controversy, the byberry mental hospital closed its doors. Two new books provide a fitting eulogy to byberry state hospital. If youre interested in the philadelphia state hospital at byberrys history and the foundations of corruption in philadelphia government starting around 1900 with israel wilson durham and the gang that ran philadelphia at that time, along with the horrors of being underfunded and neglect to patients, this is the right book with the depth of research you are looking for. However, most of the local population referred to it. The abandoned w7 building from hannah karena jones new book byberry state hospital one of more than 50 buildings that once stood on the byberry grounds. Looming on the outskirts of philadelphia county since 1906, the mental hospital most commonly known as byberry stood abandoned for 16 years before being demolished in 2006. Byberry mental asylum carrie dean on november 25, 2018 thousands spend their days often for weeks at a stretch locked in devices euphemistically called restraints.
Philadelphia state hospital at byberry wikivisually. Hed previously launched undercover investigations of the byberry mental institution in. There are suppost to be dozens if not literally hundreds of these seemingly andor completely abandoned formerly federally funded. Inside philadelphias byberry mental hospital house of horrors. Secret photos expose 1940s mental ward injustices 89. The legend of byberry growing up in levittown i heard a lot of creepy stories about byberry. I n 18th century philadelphia, when grassy hills gently rolled from the delaware river on the east across to the schuylkill on the west, an infamous building once stood in the most rural township of philadelphia county, byberry. The infamous philadelphia state hospital at byberry mental hospital cast a long shadow over somerton from the early 20th century until its closing in 1987. And as a result, byberrys story has been shrouded in speculative folklore. In 1991, because of the overall decrease in facility use and budget cuts to the department of public welfare, woodville state hospital closed. Jun 19, 20 byberry was at first a mischievous lark for philadelphia resident john webster, but it became an obsession. I strongly recommend this book for anyone that is interested in mental institutions, history of the state hospital in philadelphia, at byberry or any history about the hospital in general.
Byberry was at first a mischievous lark for fox chase resident john webster, but later it became an obsession. County since 1906, the mental hospital most commonly known as byberry stood. After sixteen years of abandonment, byberry was finally demolished in june 2006 when john westrum, chief executive of westrum development company, began tearing down the buildings that had once been philadelphias state hospital for mental diseases. See more ideas about abandoned asylums, asylum and insane asylum. I live in a suburb just outside of philadelphia a few miles from byberry manor and yes that place is very very damn spooky. Although it relieved overcrowding from the other mental. The complicated racial politics of going undercover to. Amazing history of mental health care or lack of it in a philadelphia hospital for mentally and otherwise disabled people. Nov 22, 2017 top 10 books about mental hospitals from the horrors of one flew over the cuckoos nest to hopeful stories of recovery, here are some of the best books about these much feared institutions af brady. Farmland home of chris matthews and the horrors of. Sawyer describes daily life working as an attendant at byberry, the second largest mental institution at the time with over 6,000 patients. This book provides an unprecedented window into the good, the bad, the unusual, and the forgotten history of byberry. Byberry mental hospital bensalem, pennsylvania hospital.
The mental hospital became the characteristic institution charged with. Byberry state hospital by hannah karena jones goodreads. From a pictorial report on mental institutions in pennsylvania. It was written by deutschi think around 1950 and is an expose of the horrors at state mental hospitals. Sprigles trip to the south wasnt the first time he donned a disguise for the sake of a story. See more ideas about abandoned asylums, philadelphia and asylum. Byberry state hospital by hannah karena jones arcadia.
Now, the longgone somerton mental hospital is the subject of his first book, the philadelphia state hospital at byberry. The pennsylvania center for the book byberry insane asylum. Well, northeast philadelphia is home to one of the largest mental hospitals in the usa. All societies have had to confront sickness, disease, and dependency, and have developed their own ways of dealing with these phenomena. Yet by the end of the nineteenth century, its institutions were. It was specifically located in the somerton section of the city on the border with bucks county. When the government collects, locks away, and systematically tortures tens of thousands of mental patients through excruciating neglect for a century, its not hitler. Former site of byberry, the infamous and terrifying. Byberrys sordid history finally came to a close in 2006. It was closed down due to unlivable conditions and mistreatment of patients. Soon, plans were made to turn the farm into a cottage plan asylum.
Byberry housed more than 6,100 patients, about 75 percent over its normal capacity, and only had 180 attendants. Mar 21, 2014 the legend of byberry growing up in levittown i heard a lot of creepy stories about byberry. Philadelphias state hospital for mental diseases, also known as byberry insane asylum, was built at the end of roosevelt boulevard in the somerton section of northeast philadelphia. A history of misery and medicine finally, a comprehensive, detailed history of byberry. Philadelphias state hospital for mental diseases was founded seventeen miles outside the city of brotherly love, a city that retained many small town. Hospital at byberry news newspapers books scholar jstor january 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message.
Infamous for its harsh conditions, shocking neglect and incomprehensible human rights violations, during the 80 years the hospital was open it was easily one of the most hellish and terrifying places in the united states. At its peak in the 1960s, byberry was home to more than 6,000 patients and employer to more than 800. The philadelphia state hospital was originally opened as a psychiatric hospital in northeast philly. This book provides an unprecedented window into the good, the bad, the. Encyclopedia of greater philadelphia byberry philadelphia. Originally it was incorporated as the township of byberry and was the northeasternmost municipality of philadelphia county before the city and county were consolidated in 1854. The philadelphia state hospital at byberry was a psychiatric hospital located in the byberry neighborhood of northeast philadelphia in pennsylvania. Even today, inhumane conditions and patient abuse are the main legacies of the byberry mental hospital officially known as the philadelphia state hospital. Its approximate boundaries are the poquessing creek to the north. A book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
Sawyer writes that respect earns respec t, though a few. For nearly 200 years, northeastern philadelphia had treated its surrounding mentally ill citizens to. It was located in the somerton section of the city on the border with bucks county. For webster, now 35, it all started when he was in. At its peak in the 1960s, byberry was home to more than 6,000 patients and employer to. Her first book, byberry state hospital, arcadia publishing, 20 is a nonfiction pictorial history about the abandoned state mental hospital located in the outskirts of philadelphia, near her childhood home. While they were still standing, the crumbling buildings of philadelphia state hospital at byberry in the far northeast dared us to forget the. Novels that are set, or partially set, in a mental hospital or a psychiatric ward in a regular hospital. Byberry manorbyberry mental hospital was a federally funded federally controlled mental health facility. Finally, see what life was like for the famous actress who was involuntarily institutionalized.
The end result of my decade long obsession with psh is this 176 page chronological story of one of americas most notorious mental hospitals. The philadelphia state hospital at byberry was a psychiatric hospital located on either side of roosevelt boulevard in northeast philadelphia, pennsylvania. From the exterior, byberry proved aesthetically pleasing, but the inside showed the facilitys degradation. But upon digging through its figurative ashes, a solid evil emerges.
Philadelphia state hospital byberry history this large complex has its humble beginnings as a small work farm for the mentally challenged in a section of philadelphia called byberry, in 1906. After this look at the byberry mental hospital, step inside some more of the most disturbing mental asylums of decades past. The name of the institution was changed several times during its history being variously named philadelphia. What started out as a working farm for a few unstable patients at a time in 1903 eventually grew into a multibuilding campus. The 1960s were the beginning of the end for byberry, as mental health advocates questioned the wisdom of warehousing thousands of patients in one location. Americas abandoned insane asylum cemeteries atlas obscura. Inmates of the institution were shown rocking, pacing, and twitching. During its tenure as a psychiatric hospital it was known by several names philadelphia state hospital, byberry state hospital, byberry city farms, and the philadelphia hospital for mental diseases. Despite the bucolic appearance depicted in this 1946 report by the pennsylvania department of welfare, conditions inside byberry were both sad and terrifying. Many were severely disabled either mentally or physically, but others were quite lucid and coherentbut withdrawn into themselves because of overstimulation of the senses in the loud and sometimes frightening place, and a lack of muchneeded mental stimulation.
Officially the philadelphia state hopsital, it was a mental institution off roosevelt boulevard that opened in 1907. Through legislative pennypinching, this institution could not support its staff on payroll, and the shortage of doctors, nurses and security soon became appalling. The philadelphia state hospital at byberry was a psychiatric hospital located on either side of roosevelt boulevard us route 1 in northeast philadelphia, pennsylvania. Jun 07, 20 byberry was at first a mischievous lark for fox chase resident john webster, but later it became an obsession. Top 10 books about mental hospitals from the horrors of one flew over the cuckoos nest to hopeful stories of recovery, here are some of the best books about these much feared institutions af brady. The name of the institution was changed several times during its history being variously named philadelphia state hospital, byberry state hospital, byberry city farms, and the philadelphia hospital for mental diseases. During its time as a psych hospital, it was bought out and the name changed many times philadelphia state hospital, byberry state hospital, byberry city farms, and the philadelphia hospital for mental diseases, but mostly known as byberry. Heres a wonderfully chronicled history of the notorious byberry mental hospital, that reads almost like a novel. The philadelphia state hospital at byberry was a psychiatric hospital located on either side of.
Still, taylor, who has written a new book about the world war ii conscientious objectors called acts of conscience. Dec 30, 2009 sawyer describes daily life working as an attendant at byberry, the second largest mental institution at the time with over 6,000 patients. They were mainly people with mental illness and intellectual disability, the same disabilities as the people who lived at american institutions like byberry. A record of discharges, deaths, and transfers of patients at woodville state hospital. As i understand it back in the early 1950s the place was built to house all types of the mentally unstable, from the criminally insane all the on down to people who had alzeimhers disease or some other mental illness and they were misdiagnosed as someone who for. Oct 27, 2014 much of athens lunatic asylum has been absorbed into ohio university, but traces of the abandoned mental institution linger, including its cemetery.
Shortly after that, it was established in 1907 as the byberry mental hospital and originally followed the theory of physician benjamin rush that mental illness was a. The acre campus of byberry state mental hospital sprawls across the somerton section of northeast philadelphia like the rotting corpse of a giant. Byberry state hospital by hannah karena jones, hardcover. Top 10 books about mental hospitals books the guardian. From 1907 to 2006 the byberry mental hospital also known as the philadelphia state hospital at byberry stood here. Sep 07, 2018 the philadelphia state hospital was originally opened as a psychiatric hospital in northeast philly. The author has obtained marvelous photographs from various sources and describes the times throughout history of the state hospital in philadelphia, at byberry. A history of misery and medicine, which was published by the history press in midmay. Also some of the building contain asbestos, another reason for the shutdown. The quaker city and its hospitals were pioneers in the field of mental health. One thing i do have access to is a copy of the chapter on byberry that was part of the book the shame of the states. World war ii, mental institutions and religious objectors, says the. Then, see what life was like inside the mental asylums of victorian england. Social policy to 1875 examines how american society responded to complex problems arising out of mental illness in the nineteenth century.
According to hannah kerena jones, author of another new book, byberry state hospital arcadia publishing, may 9, the institution was trapped in a cycle. Philadelphia state hospital at byberry psh was a psychiatric hospital in northeast philadelphia, first city and later stateoperated. Byberry is a neighborhood in the far northeast section of philadelphia, in the u. This large complex has its humble beginnings as a small work farm for the mentally challenged in a section of philadelphia called byberry, in 1906.