Sunday, October 23, 2011

we live in the shadow of an abandoned lunatic asylum. it sits looking out over the waves of lake ontario. and i'm obsessed with it. i take endless photos. edgar and i circle around the tall limestone edifice every day. there is a cluster of buildings. the largest is 7 or 8 stories high. huge curving windows and the scent of sadness about it. and i dream of walking through it with my camera, the empty and abandoned hallways, the curving windows and high ceilinged rooms. rockwood asylum. today i spent hours reading all i could find. old photos and lists of the people who were kept there 150 years ago. i'll fall asleep with the names echoing through my mind. the architecture so strong and beautiful while the reality of it's purpose, so helpless and sad.

9 comments:

  1. a very sad place...but still i like the pictures and the fact that you read
    about it, trying to find ( or make up) the stories of individuals who lived there...

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  2. would be great to have a look inside. I like abandoned buildings.

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  3. Old abandoned buildings are so alluring. I hope you find a way to get inside and photograph it. Find the person who has the keys, maybe they will like the idea of someone photographing it. I would love to walk through it with you, but I will have to settle for the photos if you find a way to get in.

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  4. these are the amazing photos i found yesterday
    http://jermalism.blogspot.com/2011/07/abandonment-issues-rockwood-insane.html
    i was too tired last night to add them to my post. his whole blog is fascinating!

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  5. Old abandoned buildings that were used to house the mentally challenged are indeed so very say. There was such a place in the city where I grew up. It was an ominous place set back off a major road with a park like setting. It was call Woodmire. I believe they tore down the oldest part of it several years ago. I use to go there to walk the paved paths as did many others. The grounds were very pretty with lots of trees and several ponds with ducks and geese. I never saw any of the residents walking outside though.

    Many people lived their entire lives there, others were sent there for maybe a (3) month stay, treated with electro shock treatments only to return again for more treatments when they regressed back again.

    It was such a sad and hopeless looking place that made my heart very sad every time I went there for a walk.

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  6. Wow. Sometimes Iook at an image and across this time space reality I can feel a presence. Those windows have most certainly framed eyes that hold a mystery we have yet to unlock... Thank you. XX

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  7. Wonderful building. I envy your proximity to it. I grew up in the neighborhood. I have been in love with this structure for years. I toured the inside last weekend, my second trip inside in the last year. I love walking the corridors just soaking up the history and vibes. If you find your way in it will be well worth your while. Thanks for the read.

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  8. Just wanted to say thanks for the pics, and the write up, I visit Kingston a couple times a year, and love the buidings, it would be beautiful to live close to there.

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