Abandoned Harlem Valley State Hospital

This week’s photo excursion: the abandoned Harlem Valley State Hospital in Wingdale in New York’s Dutchess County. The hospital’s history, dating back to 1924, is much like the history of the State’s other rural farm colonies. Sprawling self-sufficient campus, catch-all for the “insane,” insulin shock therapy, eletro-shock therapy, ice-pick lobotomies brought down by the onset of psychotropic drugs and the deinstitutionalization movement. And like many of the State hospitals I visit, the majority of buildings have been decaying since their closure, though parts of Harlem Valley State Hospital is now part of Olivet University, “a warm and friendly place to pursue a serious Christian education.” 😬

Bordering the parking lot at the adjacent Metro-North stop is Harlem Valley’s power plant and utility buildings. It’s worth mentioning that Apple Map directions had me accessing the site via Hutchinson Road. The road brings you to a blocked entrance, there is no local parking on the street, and the locals are eye-ballsy. 👀 The best way to access the place is simply parking at the Metro-North station. And that is where the coolest structures are anyway. The exteriors are open to explore but all doors have warnings about the cancer-causing asbestos inside… maybe because Olivet University had to pay a $600,000 penalty for asbestos removal violations when they converted some of the hospital buildings. That wasn’t the only shading dealing the good Christians were within; there have also been claims of fraud… $35 million’s worth.

The Power Plant

Though the other side of the campus is declared Private Property, it was wide open. A roving security didn’t seem to mind me as I walked about the empty buildings. I don’t see how this place could be an active campus. Every building I saw had a warning of asbestos on its door. Broken windows, wooden boards everywhere.

Ok, I’d dig a college like this…

The grass was well kept… but no real signs of life otherwise. Besides the drone flying above my head.

Should have brought my 🏀. Oh, I don’t have a 🏀.

I really didn’t see any way to get into any of these buildings… doors and windows were barricaded by wooden boards from the inside.

Staff quarters are always a favorite. And these were gloriously overgrown.

A peak from my tippy toes shows a porch in great condition with nice light fixtures.

Pink curtains flapped in the wind

I was bummed to learn once I got home that there was a cemetery on the premises that I missed, The Gate of Heaven Cemetery:

And yes, now i have to go back. There was some other neat stuff nearby, like an abandoned farm of sorts that will be my next post. But I hurried off in the hope to try to capture a glimpse of the nearby gorgeous Hudson River State Hospital before it is turned into “Hudson Heritage.” No such luck. The construction site is pretty secure, though I certainly can charm construction workers. But I was hungry and dehydrated and need to go back to the safety of my quarantine apartment.