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).
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):
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.
The truck drove by me when i was just about to go in Ryon Hall, Never seen him again that night. "I wanna just ask him if i can take some pics at the front gate".
Where did you see the blue truck?
Just a heads up, saw the blue truck yesterday. The grass is so high around the grounds i just hit the deck, the grass was like 3 feet over my head lol. If you stay out of site you will be out of this guys mind. "if your on the roof stay down you can be seen clear as day the cops watch that!!!!".
i have not gone to this place for 5 years. I mountain bike allot and was riding the walk way with a few of my friends and we were just like "lets hit it up quick" but this time in a historical way not just for the spooks lol. We just went through the main gate by home depot riding the bikes like we owned the place not trying to hide a thing. We were in there for about 5 hour's to see what buildings could still be gotten into, Did not see cops or any cars or trucks of any sort "BUT LOTS OF FRESH TIRE TRACKS SO SOMEONE IS AROUND SO KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN". Went back the same way the next day with a few cameras for another recon allot of stuff has changed. The third day no bikes! 5 cameras and all day. I do know their is a few people that go 2 or 3 times a week, I am one of those people from now on... If you are one of those people e-mail me I would like to meet others FOR A HISTORICAL TRIP..... "420 friendly" my E-MAIL is wardyward1184@yahoo.com i have videos on you tube and lots of pics..I am looking for a map of everything if someone could help, Thanks.
Well we spent a few days camping on the grounds and it was amazing. What I don't understand is the place is privately owned by hudson heritage so how do they get the local and state resources to be used as their own personal security. As we were leaving we decided to drive through to get video. Just our luck a cop is their doing some shady business with a guy in a RED PICKUP. It was too late to turn around so I just said screw it and drove right up. He made it very clear that the place is off limits and he would arrest us if we did not turn around and leave. We observed three cars during our stay so be wary of the following. Red Pickup, blue van/suv, Patrol cars next to the kirkbride. The pipe stealing is at a minimum and I can see why any noise and the place will be crawling with cops. to the explorers the kirkbride is barely worth going into the entire thing is collapsing into itself. The rest of the buildings are totally worth it. Maps really are not worth the time I made one and the terrain is so hilly and over grown we had to constantly make new routes. Just use good instinct and follow the tall grass!
Yes i have some maps of the land and building lay out but i am not to cool with just giving them out over the internet so if you really do want a cop i can meet you somewhere but as for sending them via internet, sorry but i will not do it. --CatchMeIfUCan-- Urban Xploration/Facebook
Saw two State Trooper cars at the west driveway entrance on Saturday. Do we really need three agencies there right now? Town cops, sheriffs, and now statees? Crazy right now.
I was there last night and a cop came out of nowhere i slipped him a 20 and he went the other way. So we xontinued to explore left today around 5pm.also saw the caretaker. Nice guy offered him a pizza so he gave me his number and said call whenever u come back. Very very odd day......
Arresting people for trespassing is such a waste of resources. I blame the copper thieves. They are ruining it for the people who respect abandoned properties, and just like to explore and photograph these decrepit buildings. As for graffiti, some of it adds to the wonder when its done by a skilled person, like in the pool area. Not when its just dicks with spray paint. I won't be attempting to visit this place any time soon with all these arrests going on.
cops ran up on us the other day.... we were in the basement heard them come in talkin like a bunch of jackasses. anyways yeah just hide in the tunnels or in a random dark corner, thy suk unless they bring the dawgz wittem
They must have some hillbilly cops up there if they chase people in the buildings. I'll bet they don't even know they are inhaling led paint and asbestos while in pursuit HAHA. All because some kids want to go in an abandoned building. Shame on you pigs for wasting tax dollars on such stupid crimes as tresspassing on ABANDONED land.
Be Careful, I posted the last article about arrests, and it looks like they are chasing folks again. Police officers from the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department again responded to a report of a group of persons inside a vacant building on the Hudson Heritage grounds. Four (4) suspects were taken into custody with the assistance of the Dutchess County Sheriffs Office. Two (2) males and two (2) females were arrested for misdemeanor trespass charges and released on $200.00 pre-arraignment bail. Then again- officers from the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department once again responded to a report of a male suspect inside a vacant building. A 36 year old suspect was taken into custody on misdemeanor trespass charges and released on $500.00 cash bail.
P.I- I would be interested in going if you're planning a trip.
I heard some strange things go on up their on the grounds and in the buildings ,especialy in Ryon Hall.It wouldnt surprise me if this is true knowing all the bad things that where done to mental patience way back then. im also sure there where alot of people that died up their.Well if anyone is interested in staying the night in one of the buildings , maybe Ryon Hall shoot me a line here.
Anyone have information on the buildings themselves? Like what the Cheney and Ryon Hall Buildings were used for? Also me and some friends have been trying to get into the kirkbride building but the only entrance is a window on the second floor and we're not exactly parkour expects haha
hey hopewell hooligans were you able to get into the tunnels or Ryon Hall & the Chaney building.You said you heard a door slam and know one around .that same stuff has happened to me up their and other little things that i couldnt explain.I know there are some strange things that go on up their in ryon hall.Well let me know if you want to go up some time.
The hopewell hooligans went lastnight for a bit, Got some souvenirs from the bowling ally etc.... We were later spooked at the top level of the kirkbride due to the fact we were staring out into the hudsonvalley on the top level and as we were about to explorer the top level a cement door slammed from down the hall. Saw no police, but saw marist campus security patrolling be on the look out
Went back for a little bit last night again,didnt see any cops or anything but my friend just got arrested coming out of there. I suggest usung an alternate way onto the property such as following the train tracks behind home depot or parking behing the grounds in a residentioal area. hopefull going back later today,feel free to contact me @@ af1king845@yahoo.com got tons of pictures to share .
The future of roughly 375 employees remains uncertain following the state's announcement Wednesday that Hudson River Psychiatric Center in Poughkeepsie, home to 125 patients, will close.
The facility — which serves Dutchess, Ulster and Putnam counties — will be consolidated into Rockland Psychiatric Center in Rockland County, according to an announcement from the state Office of Mental Health.
So the remaining small hospital Ross pavillion is closing, along with edgewood, and Haven House.
Redeveloping a property like the sprawling former Town of Poughkeepsie psychiatric hospital, sold off in 2005 by the state, is a process that doesn't happen quickly.
As the property's owner and developer, CPC Resources of New York City, studies environmental impacts, the 165 unkempt acres of the old Hudson River Psychiatric Center bordering Route 9 grow taller and wilder. As they wait for the town's OK to build a proposed 750-unit residential community (Hudson Heritage Park), brush fire danger plagues the Fairview Fire Department. Since CPC bought the property for $2.75 million from the state six years ago, rundown buildings have turned into safety hazards as the campus keeps attracting trespassers. Neil Wilson, the town's director of municipal development, said keeping vagrants, vandals and thieves off the site has proved a challenge. Now, with the state announcing its Route 9G psychiatric campus is closing, Wilson worries about more of the same kind of trouble. "We've got a bunch of kids who go up there," he said of Hudson Heritage Park. "They see the paranormal movies and think, let's go check out the spooky place. ... The buildings are not safe and we're really concerned." The state psychiatric hospital operated at the Route 9 site for more than a century. The sprawling quarter-mile-long administration building dates to 1871, when the center was known as the Hudson River Asylum. The center once had its own library, recreation hall, power plant, chapels, even a shoemaker. At its peak in the 1950s, the center had about 6,000 patients, according to the Journal's archive. When the main Route 9 campus closed, residential patients moved into a new home in Ross Pavilion, east of Route 9G. Ross was constructed in 1954 and had been used on and off over the years as a facility for tuberculosis patients, as well as to serve the elderly, until the early 1990s. Before the Route 9 patients moved into in April 2001, Ross underwent extensive renovations. Following the state Route 9 campus shutdown, heat and power to the sprawling property's dozens of buildings was shut off, causing deterioration. There were two fires in late April 2010, burning Ryon Hall and a three-story former staff house. A May 2007 fire destroyed a part of the historic 19th-century main building. To revitalize the center, CPC Resources must do some historic preservation and provide nonresidential amenities, according to Wilson. Officials have said the project could cost $250 million and take at least eight years. The project has been delayed by prolonged sale negotiations with the state plus a town-imposed 2005 moratorium on large-scale residential construction. However, discussions between the town and CPC are ongoing. "I met with them a couple of weeks ago and kicked around ideas, nothing formally," Wilson said, adding they have also recently discussed tightening security there to prevent unwanted visitors. New York City-based CPC Resources is a for-profit subsidiary of the nonprofit Community Preservation Corp. A representative there couldn't be immediately reached.
I have emailed about 5 people off this comment list and no onse seems to respond? I searched facebook for Urban Exploration and there are too many pages, which one is yours 4ec?
Went last night, no cops or anything. Got myself a bowling ball from the bowling alley.
I am pretty happy Those idiot pipe stealers got caught, they really destroy the place for people who want to photograpgh and preserve. Chances are someone called and thats how they got caught! Nice work guys keep your eyes open! On another note I am still trying to find a tunnel map or a building key with the building numbers. Anyone still have one available?
Construction crew with 3+ guys on-site sealing entrances, probably in preparation for additional traffic as the weather gets better, plus the recent arrests. They took lunch in their truck in the driveway near Mobil. Be careful out there, not worth catching a case. And please don't enter from that Home Depot side, it just brings us all more heat.
Eight people were arrested last week in connection with a series of break-ins at the vacant Hudson Heritage property in the Town of Poughkeepsie.
Police stated vacant buildings on the former site of the Hudson River Psychiatric Center were broken into on multiple occasions from April 7 to April 12. Copper pipes were reported stolen in two incidents.
Joseph Zahn, 21, of Fishkill, Daniel Potts, 23, and Michael Potts, 28, both from Livingston, Columbia County, were charged with third-degree burglary, a felony. Zahn was also charged with felony third-degree criminal mischief.
Three people, ages 25, 26, and 31, from Queens, a 26-year-old from Miami, Fla. and a 36-year-old from Poughkeepsie, were all charged with third-degree criminal trespass, a misdemeanor.
Zahn, Daniel Potts and Michael Potts were sent to Dutchess County Jail on $2,000 cash bail or $4,000 bond. They were scheduled to appear in Poughkeepsie Town Court on April 11. The other defendants were scheduled to appear at a later date.
The Journal does not typically print the names of individuals charged with misdemeanors.
There is a church off of Route 9G, and if you park there you can take the back road into the complex and there are no posted signs. It just says "road closed". My friend and I used it today and just walked around the grounds. Is there a safe way to get inside the place?
Hello. I just stumbled onto this site. My grandfather was comitted here and died here. He spent 37 years of his life here. It just really is mind expanding to see this website. Thank you.
i just go onto the property from the side of mobile in brod day and wasnt really sneeky about it so yeah i just steped on the property and he came from behind us as soon as we passed the gate.....no worries though its just a roster and i am to sneeky to get caught up now---- CatchMeIfUCan-----
So the cops showed up in a blue pick up? That sounds a little odd. Were you on the property when that happened?
not really busted just put on the roster......but it ok i slipped up once but not again...CatchMeIfUCan
Haha, Urban xploration did you get busted up there or something?
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