I came across photos of this abandoned leper colony, left to rot on the island of North Brother, just 350 yards from The Bronx. This was a quarantine zone, leper colony, and center for drug addicts, once home to hundreds of patients, now abandoned to nature. As with many abandoned buildings, this is eerie. But the nature of the building makes it perhaps more akin to the photos I’ve posted of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia in some respects.
New York leper colonyNew York leper colonyNew York leper colony of North Brother
A couple of photos from my Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum collection of photos that I took during my visit to West Virginia in 2010:
A decaying doctor’s office at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia. Some of the doctors had special wings, where their wife and children would stay. Can you imagine being a kid, living and growing up at an insane asylum? – Photo by Ken LeeThe area for particularly violent patients in the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, with several bolts, as one patient still managed to bust one metal deadbolt. Trans-Allegheny Lunaic Asylum, Weston, West Virginia – Photo by Ken Lee
Ugly Is Beautiful: Well, I don’t think the wall is ugly. But that’s the whole point. Finding beauty in decay, finding interest in things we often overlook. One of the things I love about photography is that it has made me appreciate the world around me much more than before.
The following photo is of an abandoned building in West Virginia, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. The paint was peeling off the walls, creating a fantastic texture.
A decaying doctor’s office at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia. Some of the doctors had special wings, where their wife and children would stay. Can you imagine being a kid, living and growing up at an insane asylum?
Anybody who reads me blog or looks at my Ken Lee Photography website knows that I love abandoned buildings. They have stories to tell. And fantastic photographic opportunities, with its texture, decay, and more.
The Lunatic Is In the Hall. I was originally considering shooting the asylum in black and white to try and heighten the creep factor. But after seeing the vivid colors of the asylum, I knew I had to display the photos in color. Many of the rooms were different colors – green, blue, yellow, red, pink – and the light shining through the windows and out into the hallway was often quite beautiful.
The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, Weston, West Virginia.
I love wandering and photographing abandoned buildings and cities. So many questions. Why did people leave? What makes hundreds or thousands of people leave a place? What are the stories behind these places?
And the places themselves. The decay of an abandoned building can be alluring, fascinating, even beautiful.
The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum had this going for it. And more. It was allegedly haunted, the ghosts of tormented inmates still roaming the halls.
Gaining admission to the lunatic asylum nowadays was decidedly easier than yesteryear. Pay a ticket, take a tour. But yesteryear’s admittance was far more interesting. Back then, we e could have been admitted for imaginary female trouble. Or superstition. Or masturbation for 30 years. Or perhaps doubt about mother’s ancestors. Or even bad whiskey.
We took the tour. I took photos since I couldn’t wander most of the 242,000 square feet of the asylum independently. But I did lag. The tour guide was quite relaxed about letting me lag, trusting that I would catch up. And I always did.
A decaying doctor’s residence on the premise of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia, with some amazing textures from the peeling paint. Some of the doctors had special wings, where their wife and children would stay. Can you imagine being a kid, living and growing up at an insane asylum?
Now, this is a photography blog, after all, so we can get to a little bit of the equipment used. I would love to have wandered with a lightweight tripod, but we were on the go, and as it was, I was frequently running to catch up with the group. So this is all used with a Nikon D90 and my trusty Nikkor 18-200mm VR all-purpose lens, what I call my “walkabout” lens. It may not be the greatest lens, certainly not the fastest, but for sheer versatility, it’s hard to beat. This was before I purchased my 50mm f/1.4 prime, a wonderful lens, although not as versatile, forcing you to move your feet much more. I was so enamored with the natural lighting that I rarely if ever used my SB-600 speedlight (which was purchased with money that I received to photograph a wedding later on this same trip to West Virginia!).
The haunted lunatic asylum operated from 1864 until 1994, and was abandoned for years until Joe Jordan purchased it in 2007 for $3 million, opening it up for tours to raise money for restoration. The rooms smelled, as decaying rooms left to neglect always do. While I wouldn’t want to conduct tours here, spending a couple of hours here was so fascinating that it didn’t matter. Still, I appreciated the fresh air after the tour was over.
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