Hudson River State Hospital
A view of Hudson River State Hospital's administration section as it appeared in 2008.
Updated July 25, 2019 | By Matthew Christopher
Construction on Hudson River State Hospital in Poughkeepsie, NY began in 1868, and the first patients were admitted in 1871. When funding was exhausted and construction finally stopped, Hudson River State Hospital was unparalleled in scale and opulence. There was great controversy at the time about how over budget and schedule it was, but the final product was nothing short of spectacular: stained glass windows abounded, ornamental wood and stone carvings adorned door frames, and everywhere one looked the breathtaking High Victorian architecture and immaculate grounds provided another awe-inspiring vista. At its peak in the 1940s and 1950s over 6,000 people were treated here.
Now it is unrivaled in the sheer scope of its devastation; as the demand for inpatient hospitalization declined with the introduction of psychotropic drugs and community based treatment, Hudson River was shut down in stages, starting with the male and female wings in the 1970s and culminating with the administration section in 2001. Hudson River has suffered more dramatically from the elements than any other state hospital due in part to the expensive yellow pine floors' deterioration, and after a massive fire (and the resulting effort to extinguish it) gutted its wings in 2007 what remains is one of the most hauntingly epic and terrifyingly dangerous buildings in existence.
Looking across Hudson River State Hospital's rooftops, it's clear how badly it was damaged in the 2007 fire.
Simply put, Hudson River State Hospital may be the most frightening place I've ever been. There was not a single area in the building that I felt safe in, and some of the risks I took to get the pictures I did will stick with me forever. Trying to manage my way from a door frame to a collapsing floor that led straight down into the basement three floors below (and going back), climbing across jagged collapses, and the long journey down a hallway whose floor was so badly bowed that I had to literally climb the floor to get into doorways were some of the highlights. The entire building resembles nothing so much as an enormous labyrinth full of impassible areas and missing floors.
I'm thankful it's over with. I was very pleased with the way the gallery turned out and I think the qualities that were so frightening when inside the building make for a compelling series of images. It was an experience I will never be able to adequately describe or translate, and certainly I am grateful to have had it. I am glad to be free of it for now though. I hope one day to return and tempt fate again, but for the moment I think the trip paid off and the risk was worth it. I hope so, at least. in a very real way devoid of hyperbole or exaggeration I nearly lost my life on several occasions for this set of photographs. To see what it looks like eight years after this trip, visit this gallery.
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