Hudson River State Hospital

Type Aerial viewVideo CountryDateStatusRating
Hospital
Hospital
Here !
Watch it!
USA
USA
2006-04-09Endangered*****


Hudson River State Hospital - Click to enlarge!
The Kirkbride building. Click to enlarge!

The Kirkbride

Welcome to the Hudson River State Hospital located in the United States in Poughkeepsie, New York.  This gigantic hospital has overlooked the Hudson River for 136 years since its initial construction in 1871.  The various hospital buildings were constructed and belong to the famous Kirkbride architectural order (read more on this excellent website).

The hospital was divided into two wings, for male and female patients, with an administration section located in the center. The male wing was much larger than the respective female wing.  This was caused by the number of patients being unequal between the sexes (see the sky view from the hospital using the link above).

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Hudson River State Hospital - Click to enlarge!
The chapel - Click to enlarge!

Decadence

The beauty of the decay was unbelievable in this hospital. Most of the original constructions had been preserved.

Future renovation construction of the hospital were planned long ago.  A fire, caused by lightning, burned the male wing in June 2007.  As of the date of this article, the fate of Hudson Psyche Center remains unknown.

Hopefully this awesome Kirkbride will be saved.  The United States is certainly not Europe and listing historical buildings as monuments might not be enough to protect them…

Archive documents dated between 1891 and 1918 (click on a thumbnail to enlarge):

Hudson River State Hospital - Click to enlarge!
Supervisory daily
report from 1925 (front)
Hudson River State Hospital - Click to enlarge!
Supervisory daily
report from 1925 (back)
Hudson River State Hospital - Click to enlarge!
Board of managers and
number of patients in 1918
Hudson River State Hospital - Click to enlarge!
Hudson River Fund
voucher from 1892
Hudson River State Hospital - Click to enlarge!
Invoice from David B.
Crockett from 1891
Hudson River State Hospital - Click to enlarge!
How to reach the
Hospital in 1918
Hudson River State Hospital - Click to enlarge!
Various accounting
documents from 1891

Special thanks to Dr. Bob for sharing the old postcards.

Reference for the scanned documents: Handbook of the State Hospital Commission and the Hospitals for the Insane, 1918, E.S.Graney.





There are 37 comments
Ron – Poughkeepsie
June 24, 2009 - 20:17
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Jack, How do you get on the grounds safely, and where are these underground tunnels?

Jack
June 23, 2009 - 17:37
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To be perfectly honest, I go at least 5 out of 7 days of the week. The place is not bad if you know how to get around. When the cops come, leap into one of the underground tunnels and walk to the opposite side of the property. BUT, I have yet to see any type of official on the property. The one thing i will say is watch out for the "pipe-robber". There is a guy making a living off of stealing copper pipes from the buildings. Anything you hear that sounds like big footsteps or someones tools is him. Just walk out the way you went in and he wont bother you. I go during the day and at night, so i know what im talking about. and no i am not a ghost hunter, nor do i even believe in ghosts. dont be afraid to go! just be safe and have a good time!

bob
April 06, 2009 - 07:07
dont go

so yea went there at 12 pm nd cops do patrolls now. got to see alot of the building but cops came nd yea almost went to jail..... sooo ya lol dont go.

bobby – poughkeepsie ny
April 03, 2009 - 07:57
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i realy want to go in side this place, but i want but i need to know if the cops go there alot?

Scott – Poughkeepsie
March 18, 2009 - 04:39
Sadly

Sadly, the property has been sold and will be torn down to be replaced with a park joining with the existing Clearwater park along the river. This property is also patrolled by State Troopers, has asbestos, and most buildings are not safe, so it's not a bright idea to go, but if you insist, be careful and don't get hurt and or lost.
Also, if you remember the MTV show FEAR i think it was called, they were going to go there but never had the chance. But, a new show on Travel Ch called Ghost Adventures might go there to investigate

mudd – rochester, ny
March 04, 2009 - 00:58
present condition of building

The old kirkbride building wings are unpassable and completly unsafe. Their is no floors and the basement is what was left of them. thying to mole your way through the maze is really a bad idea. It is a really huge shame. The main interance is still intact and has floors to it. The newer hospital is still very sound. the really cool building was in the back it was much newer and housed a bowling lane. What a shame they never used this building for the community..........The police use these building for live fire non leathal fire training or at least they use to. There are spent non leathal rounds everywhere. There are also targets for training on some of the walls. I don't think getting caught is my biggest fear, I think the fear should really be getting shot if the still use the buildings. The morge is in a small building in front of the newer hospital. The views from outside were breath taking to see. It will be a shame when this is lost to history. I would never tell anyone to go in an abandon building, but this site was very impressive to see. Next to pennhurst in has been my favorate trip. This was as of july of last year...

RAG Rochester Adventure Group

Russ – Callicoon New York
February 21, 2009 - 21:27
Question about the hospital

Hello my name is Russ I'm the Co Founder of the paranormal group MSPI I was wondering if anybody had any info on this place. I heard it was haunted and I wanted to bring my team there to invesigate it but I don't want to get arrested for tresspassing. If some one could help me out that would be great. Also if anyone has some reports of paranormal activity that has been to this place feel free to email me at djmixakilla@yahoo.com also you can send me a message on myspace Thanks Russ MSPI Co Founder

mike
February 11, 2009 - 17:46
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i went there last night and i'm trying to find blueprints on the buildings, i found some for the central building. anyone know where to find them for the cheney building, ryon hall and the kirkbride buildings?? email them to me at mredner138@yahoo.com

mark – CT
January 28, 2009 - 04:31
Morgue

Its been a while since ive been through the place but i got down into the morgue using a floor level window that droped about 6 feet. theres plenty of cool little things down there; toe tags, bodie bags, a ton of stuff. the place is really cool but i honestly wouldnt hang out there regularly.. its not safe in the least bit and me and my friends have all the maps and blueprints well studied. the trampoline in the gym is really cool though, oh also i wear a gas mask when i explore

Jordan L
November 26, 2008 - 20:00
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My bad. Sorry about that. You can look it up on google earth by searching 3470 North Road, Poughkeepsie. It's just above that. I'm still at girly_122093@yahoo.com if you have any more questions. ( just about the shape: )
_____
l*****l_
l*******l
l*******l
l*****__l
l____l

Jordan L
November 26, 2008 - 03:59
Morgue

I can't seen to find the picture of the morgue, but ive been in it so i'll do my best to explain.If you go on google earth and zoom in on the area containing the small buildins,it's about the second smallest and shaped like this:
_________
l l
l l___
l l
l l
l ___l
l l
l_________l

It's 2 stories and all but one window are boarded up so you better hurry. The only one not boarded up is over a roof 5 feet off the ground and you will need help getting up.

Mike
November 14, 2008 - 23:25
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I have been scouring the place for like 5 visits now, and I can't seem to find the morgue. Now, I've seen photos of it online, and I would assume it to be in the basement of the large (Cheney?) 8 story building. Either I'm blind, or I'm way off. Also, there is some sort of an alarm system working in that building and the Ryon building directly across. There have been a few times while pulling on a locked door a high pitched beeping would go off. Any help would be much appreciated.

November 13, 2008 - 16:05
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honestly, i dont think the cops search the primeses anymore becasue i went there 4 days straight with about 8 kids and we didnt see anyone else besides us. well, we did see a white car near the resident homes when it was lightning, but then it dissapeared. But i will tell you this. The building across from the main one is mostly haunted forsure. We were trying to break into it before we heard the massive bashings against the door. But if your very skinny, you can get into the lower part of the main building where the electroshock therapy took place. Be carefull though... and if you look into the very top left cornor of the main building, you can see the curtains move along with alot of blue lights.

November 03, 2008 - 16:37
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go through the back of the building and jump down to the basement enter through there do not close any doors and remember the way you went in because it is a maze in there multi stairways etc. locked doors etc. there are very nice paintings in there along with plenty of other things dont touch or steal shit cuzz it is haunted. i would deff go there your first time during plenty of daylight there is a dead end behind home depot that is a good spot to park at.... follow the telephone lines down the hilll to enter through the backway of the yard i would suggest going on a sunday...

you can get to the top of the building by climbing a ladder

this posting is for educational purposes only i believe it is illegal to go on this property now.

Jen
October 30, 2008 - 02:27
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This site is amazing. I go to Marist College down the road and I always wondered about this place. It can barely be seen from the road but I could tell there was a ton of land with so many beautiful buildings.

I think Marist should buy the land and restore the buildings to be used as academic buildings and maybe even dormitories.

Tim Scully
October 11, 2008 - 19:53
HRSH...

Awesome web-site,great job!! Saw it last week for the first time...beautiful!! I have to see this place from the inside before it's history.Can someone help?? I don't know the area too well and would like to go with a person who knows the "ins & outs".Our tax dollars are all over those grounds and we can't even go up there to take a couple of pics...it's a damn shame!! Thanks all...Thankyou for any info... : )

Jordan L – Hyde Park, New York
September 26, 2008 - 01:29
my trip there.

Me and a couple friends went there the days before school started. It's deffinetly worth the "daring attempt" to get caught by the police. I didn't get the vibe that it was haunted or something though. Thanks to people before us, most of the floor doors are unlocked but I still havent had any luck finding the seclusion rooms for the extreme patients. Does anybody know where it is? If you do, it's
myspace.com
or girly_122093@yahoo.com

but a word of advice, if you are just walking through the hallway and see a pile of shiny pipes, you might want to get out of there fast. Theres a guy that goes there and steals the pipes. A group of people we met wearing gas masks told us that. Unless you go there a lot like them, theres no point in taking extra precautions like that.

John- – Nevada
August 07, 2008 - 19:32
interesting very

My parents lived on the grounds. MY dad was the Chief Engineer and my mother ran the community store. They were there from 1952 to 1975, I believe. The place was beautiful and my mother had parties for the patients twice a year. The houses for the staff were old and well kept. I hope they are still standing. I would love to go back to visit that old memory.They finally retired and moved to Mitchell Ave. They missed the activity at the hospital and all the friends they had made over the years.

Dee Van Duser – Houston, Texas
July 17, 2008 - 07:07
Childhood memories

My Mother (paranoid schizophrenic) was a patient at this hospital. When I was 5 or so she went away and I was told she was in a hospital in Poughkeepsie. It wasnt until I was older that I found out it was a mental institution. I do have memories of this place as it looks from afar in the pictures because I was taken to visit her. It gave me the creeps when I looked at the pics just to think I was there and my Mother was there. They kept her for about 6 months and when she came home she was "normal" for about a month and then reverted back to a state of mental illness. I am very interested in the paranormal and I do believe if any place could be haunted, this place is one of them. I would like to visit it when I get a chance to go back home.

Katie – Pleasant Valley, NY
June 19, 2008 - 16:34
police during the summer?

Hey, how often do the police go up there during the summer? Just curious. I went during late winter/early spring when it was a bit cold most of the time and there were no police, but if anyone has a clue...my info is down below.

Ryan S
June 19, 2008 - 02:48
THE LOONY BIN

ive been up there a couple of times and the place is definatly as creepy as it is beautiful .. ive only been at night .. and as you explore the buildings you hear all types of noises and such .. it is a great place to go .. although as m scott said it is very dangerous so deff dont go alone, be careful .. and enjoy yourselves .. =]

April 26, 2008 - 16:28
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Thats amazing! so much mystery is up in there! In Russia now its so rarely u can see abandoned places like that because they got re-built or broken down or if there are some they are protected so u cant get there places like that are very beautiful and let your imagination grow so much

cracker jack
April 25, 2008 - 23:42
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the place is amazing spent an entire summer in the place every night going up there. theres alot more to it then just the one building too its really a giant complex with an even bigger medical hospital on sight too. not to mention the other building they actually kept the crazies. plus a childs ward in the far back. but the police are definitly there now (i know i'm on the local blotter when i got caught) but if you got the balls its much worth the slap on the rist

Katie – Pleasant Valley, NY
April 16, 2008 - 07:10
My comment also regarding Kelly's comment.

Wow, one of my mom's friend's brothers worked there when it was open...he used to come home with stories of the inmates trying to rape each other and such, I even found an incident report which was about an inmate getting punched in the face while smoking a cigarette, funny thing is that the other inmate who punched him had never met him before, and went up to him to shake his hand then socked him with the free hand (erm, fist). I just went there yesterday. If you have a MySpace, you can add me and view the images in my friends only album (it's in that album because I'd rather not get busted for "trespassing"....over the internet) myspace.com or email me at queenofkamelot31@aol.com Anyone else looking for information on this place or images, feel free to contact me.

Sestet
April 04, 2008 - 04:00
To Kelly.

Kelly, it's honestly not as dangerous as M Scott (who is probably either a security official there or a police officer, trying to dissuade you from visiting) makes it seem. No more so than any number of outdoor activities such as hiking or driving; statistically you're as likely to die or develop serious health problems visiting there as you are while playing Lawn Bowling. Drop me a line at Sestet@gmail.com and I'll share useful info.

Smizzia – Spain
February 13, 2008 - 21:35
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Is fucking nice all picture in this page, and the places...I love it!!!; I know some forbidden places in Spain and Denmark, but I don´t take a pictures, If I see this wonderful world before I do, I have somepictures but is little I think. I like this page...I will like in this places...art...occupied---occupied...art! Nowhere Spain!!!!!!!!! ???????? Qué pasa??

M Scott
February 13, 2008 - 03:49
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The site is guarded and watched. While people trespass often (just look at the plethora of so called 'underground/urban exploration' sites with photos), I can say from personal observation that the local police are active and vigilent in intercepting any and all tresspassers, so I would give second thought to 'checking out the site' without permission.

Having been up close and personal to the Kirkbride - it is extremely dangerous - caved in ceilings and floors, lead paint flaking inches deep, toxic mold, asbestos in abundance, you name it - this is not limited to merely the inconvenience of a 'No Trespassing' sign site.

Even if you are able to avoid the onsite patrols and police patrols, is it worth braving permanent health damage and/or coming face-to-face with a crack-head or the like? Falling through the floor when no one knows you're there?
Nice.
Do your paper, but save yourself the aggravation and danger of the photos - they are already out there - use theirs for your paper - you can do that...

Kelly – Poughkeepsie
February 04, 2008 - 06:19
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I was working at Blockbuster when about three firetrucks came screaming down route 9 when I found out about the fire which greatly saddened me, because I wanted to go and take pictures there myself before it had happened.

Plus I might be doing a research paper on how the HRSH helped formed Dutchess County/Poughkeepsie. Any info anyone could give me would be highly appreciated. Also how did you get in to take these pictures because I would like to go and take some myself for my paper.

Dawn – NYC
January 31, 2008 - 20:27
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Thanks! My grandmother lived there for twenty years circa 1935-1955. Wish I would have gone up to see it before the fire. Thanks for the info.

Tiffany Madison – NH
January 22, 2008 - 22:45
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I once lived near this place about a year ago, I remember when it caught fire, My friend had been so terrifed becasue he lived right down the road form it. It was such a grand builidng, beautiful and historic, Its a pity they didnt fix it up when they had the chance. Do you know if all the older parts have hall burned down? I konw it was one specific wing, that caught fire but I've always wanted to explore that beautiful haunting building.

It was very strange that they refused to tell us any sufficiant information about the building and such

Dave – New York
January 05, 2008 - 23:32
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I remember when this was an active facility... In fact, I was incarcerated there for a short time back in the late 1980s. Thanks for the great photos!

Robert – New York
December 01, 2007 - 19:53
Sorry

It was tragic to see this building burn. I was there for three days and then some. Probably one of the largest fires in this areas history. The cause that brought this building down was a lighting strike.

Rose – scotland
November 21, 2007 - 17:53
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great site, love the photos

Slyv @ forbidden-places . net
June 27, 2004 - 04:58
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To Liz: no, sorry.

Elizabeth Mars
June 27, 2004 - 09:52
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What a fantastic site! My Great-Grandmother lived there sometime in the 30's. Do you have access to medical files?

Thierry Eamon
June 27, 2004 - 11:25
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What a great place!! and beautiful photo's! To bad it't in the USA. Greetings from The Netherlands

Hanneke
December 26, 2004 - 01:01
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wat is het toch altijd jammer dat er met zulke prachtige gebouwen niets meer gedaan wordt, men laat het maar vervallen en uiteindelijk wordt het dan afgebroken.... Jammer dat zoveel historische gebouwen dit lot treft. Maar wel geweldig om er "samen met jullie" doorheen te dwalen.