Truth In Destruction

Truth In Destruction Documenting American Ruins Since 2007

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A view of the autopsy suite in the demolished pathology building at the former DC General Hospital in Washington DC. Cir...
09/02/2026

A view of the autopsy suite in the demolished pathology building at the former DC General Hospital in Washington DC. Circa 2020.

Select views of the former Bryan Building at the Worcester State Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts. Circa 2013The 8 s...
09/01/2026

Select views of the former Bryan Building at the Worcester State Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts. Circa 2013

The 8 story, 350,000 square foot building was constructed from 1955-1958. It was designed to not only relieve overcrowding from the nearby antiquated Kirkbride building, but to be a new Worcester State Hospital entirely. Administration, medical/surgical operations, and male & female patient wards would be consolidated under one roof for the next 5 decades. In 2013; inspectors noticed that the window bays were bulging from their frames, and over fears of a partial collapse, the building was abruptly evacuated and left vacant with everything still inside. The timing proved fortuitous as the nearby Worcester Recovery Center had just opened, ushering in a new era of care on the Worcester campus.

Bryan would remain vacant until 2019, when demolition began on the massive structure. I was fortunate enough to get in here about 3 months after the building had been evacuated and closed. It was surreal. Everything was still in its place and the sketch factor was off the charts as we knew for a fact that a maintenance worker was somewhere in the building with us. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to explore it and to share my memories with you.

An early 1950’s Dodge Wayfarer Fastback sits rusting into the ground at an abandoned house.
08/31/2026

An early 1950’s Dodge Wayfarer Fastback sits rusting into the ground at an abandoned house.

A view of the barber shop in the male wards of the Kirkbride Building at the former Buffalo State Hospital in Buffalo, N...
08/31/2026

A view of the barber shop in the male wards of the Kirkbride Building at the former Buffalo State Hospital in Buffalo, New York.

View of a seclusion room in a dormitory building at the former Harlem Valley State Hospital in Wingdale, New York.Seclus...
08/29/2026

View of a seclusion room in a dormitory building at the former Harlem Valley State Hospital in Wingdale, New York.

Seclusion rooms (or “padded cells”) were used to isolate violent or disruptive patients from the rest of the ward if they were deemed dangerous to fellow patients or staff. The patient would typically be restrained in a camisole, given a tranquilizing medication, and left to calm down. The walls were made of a rubberized plastic that gives slightly to the touch, and the interior of the door is notably not equipped with a doorknob. They are bleak places; where the scratches and stains on the door speak volumes to the suffering that happened within.

SubmechanophobiaDrone view of various ships at the Staten Island Boat Graveyard in Staten Island, New York.
08/23/2026

Submechanophobia

Drone view of various ships at the Staten Island Boat Graveyard in Staten Island, New York.

Select views of Building 32 at Norristown State Hospital in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Circa 2017.Building 32 was constru...
08/23/2026

Select views of Building 32 at Norristown State Hospital in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Circa 2017.

Building 32 was constructed as part of a large expansion to Norristown in the late 1930’s. As with most state psychiatric hospitals of the era, Norristown’s large employee workforce would require an on-campus dormitory for single men. For a nominal fee, staff could live on the grounds in a private room where a quick trip through the tunnels could put them in the unit they worked in minutes. 32 also contained an employee lounge and shoe repair shop in the basement.

Following the downsizing of the state hospital in the middle of the 20th century; 32 was left vacant sometime in the late 1960’s or early 70’s and has remained empty ever since. Its only resident an irate turkey vulture who doesn’t appreciate human visitors.

A wood box mortuary cooler and gurney lie silent in the pathology building of a long-abandoned state psychiatric hospita...
08/19/2026

A wood box mortuary cooler and gurney lie silent in the pathology building of a long-abandoned state psychiatric hospital.

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