Demolition of Allentown State Hospital
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- We created this video to serve as a record of the final moments of the Allentown State Hospital. If you want to see our video of the beautiful hospital intact, you can do so here - bit.ly/ASH_Video
Our concluding visit to the Allentown Hospital property was made in two parts - The night prior to, and the morning of the removal of the administration building. Or what little of it endured. Pulling up the old hospital drive we were unready for what we saw. Where a sprawling facility stood when last we visited, now only the very heart of the administration building remained. Little more than the central lobby and rooms immediately surrounding it stood in a muddy field, their edges splintered and ragged with exposed beams, its former limbs milled to rubble and spread around it in on half-frozen earth. It was once such an imposing sight, but now it looked utterly defeated and feeble. A sickening mix of grief and anger swelled inside, but it had nowhere to go, nowhere to be directed, so we cast it free in the cold evening air.
Within the lobby, most all of the ornamental details remained - Marble tiled walls and floors, gilded ironwork railings, stonework columns with carved capitals. All going down with the building, destined to be lost in some tragically misguided rush to clear the property for sale. The sun had now set, the last of its blonde rays flickering across the spire before all was covered in murky shadow. It was the last sunset that the hospital would ever witness, but at least it was a beautiful one. Before long the streetlamps hummed on, their pale yellow glow illuminating the front lawn and drive, but sadly absent were the lamps which once lighted the hospital itself. It stood there, a hulking mass of black just barely evident in the shadows beyond the lamplight. We left, to return just some hours later when the demolition crew arrived.
It was still blue out when we arrived around 6:30 am, but getting brighter by the minute. Demolition equipment slowly moved to the front of the property, arriving just as the sunrise started to crest the horizon. The brilliant pink of the morning was short-lived however, as an unexpected snow-shower blew in and cast the scene in a drab grey. Work began with the clawing away of the shortest, eastern wing, ripping out the innards of the old hospital as if it were a vulture picking apart the body of a dead animal. Before long the lobby was breached. We watched on as plaster, brick, and stone poured out of the wreckage. Punctuated at times by the removal of twisted railings from the lobby balcony and stairwells, as well as massive steel support beams. Eventually, too much of the frame was removed to support the immense spire which still adorned the roof, and it began to list to the side. It leaned and sunk into the roof as if toppling in slow motion. But it didn't. Abruptly it froze in place, coming to halt at an angle so unnatural that even the demolition crew seemed taken aback as they all paused to stare before clearing away from the walls, and retreating to safer ground. After no more than a minute the largest of the cranes returned to finish the task, and in short order the spire was felled, crumbling in upon itself, landing with a maelstrom of debris upon the marble floor of the once-magnificent lobby. The crane worked quickly on the spire, reducing its ornate, embossed form to scraps before any sense of loss could even set in. Within no more than ten minutes the tin and steel spire simply ceased to exist. The spire which stood over the community of Allentown for a century, spire which generations of people knew, the spire which was once a symbol of great pride, crumpled into a pile on the snow-covered dirt. Unrecognizable.
Not long after the spire fell the snowstorm gave way to sudden and dramatic sunshine over the rear of the building, casting brilliant beams of light through the haze of water mist that was now being pumped into the air by several turbine fans as a form of dust control. It would not be an exaggeration to say the scene was utterly heavenly, with almost unearthly golden beams of light cast some hundred or so feet in length, entering in through the gaping roof of the admin, where the spire stood just moments ago, and exiting through the missing windows on the face of the building. The centerpiece of this breathtaking scene was a three-story corpse, the absurd beauty of it all serving as the perfect conclusion to a series of events that should never have transpired. Within a few hours the last of the hospital was razed, and crews began work on grading the land and filling the tunnels. Thus ends the last night and final morning of the Allentown State Hospital - October 3, 1912 - December 28, 2020.
You can find the full story of the Allentown State Hospital on our site - bit.ly/Allento...
Music - 'Sopor' by Kai Engel & 'Misunderstood Soul' by Somnium Music
It’s like a monster destroying history. So heartbreaking.
It really was awful to film.
@@AntiquityEchoes I can't imagine. However, I want to thank you for recording history.
So sad
Slowly but surely, history is destroyed. Makes me sad that there's so little interest in preserving or even renovating pieces of the past for future generations.
There's plenty of interest, but it's often ignored by the state. They want these places gone, along with their complex histories. It's easier to look at a Walmart or row if townhouses than it is to look at a historic psychiatric hospitals, as they don't make you pause to think. Shameful mindset, but that's why we see these places fall.
@@AntiquityEchoes from what I hear there's a possibility that an Amazon and or Walmart buildings maybe it's new home
@@AntiquityEchoes that sucks because I freaking love places in the world that make me stop and pause
@@AntiquityEchoes It seems gvmnt's find it better to have the former residents of hospitals such as Allentown, living on the streets, and it's a global problem now. Of course not all homeless people gave mental health issues, and I understand the reform was supposedly to prevent people from being forcibly locked up, but unwell people still need help and the streets aren't the solution, just as some former hospitals were not the solution. However, all that I've read, including articles written by people who worked at Allentown, said that it was a good place for both patients and staff. It had it's own farm, woodworking shop, art centre, etc. and Dr's living on the property.
How sad to tear down a beautiful building that no longer serves it's initial purpose. It would've made a wonderful college, resort, or even apartments.
As the machine cuts through the masonry you can see the cast metal staircase was left inside... so much for salvaging some of the valuable architectural components.
Much of these details could have been sold to offset the state bill. Marble, architectural mouldings, what a waste.
The state pulled a fast one and it is certain the environmental remediation was inadequate in the every short demolition; If you lived nearby you should check routinely for lung cancer.
The state of Pennsylvania absolutely stole this beautiful building (and its history) from the citizens. A state-funded tragedy.
Sad to see something my mother and grandmother worked at. Time I spent in them hallways as a child while my mother was working. Was there that day and it was the saddest I felt in the longest. This Historical structure can never be peice back together. I took my neices to see it one night. They were so into it that they forgot about there iPads. They buried themselves with there own brick filling the land where they majestically sat for over a 100 years. RIP Allentown State Hospital. 01/07/2021 @ 5 o'clock PM the last structure came down medical/morgue building.
It's awful what the state did to this property. The fact that they saw the building as detracting from the land value is so out-of-tune with what their priorities should be that we find difficulty putting it into words. Those in charge are put there by the people of the state to safeguard things like this, to ensure that they may exist to enrich future generations, be it through adaptive reuse or otherwise. Instead, where so many see a beautiful building with once-of-a-kind craftsmanship and a history over a century deep, those in charge see a useless building which would be better off as rubble. This is why we need to all make sure that those we vote for truly have our best interest at heart. An empty lot where the Allentown State Hospital once stood is surely not in the best interest of anyone except the state, who stand to make a fair bit of money on the land sale.
@@AntiquityEchoes so true. Every time I would drive down Hanover Avenue I would always love looking up the hill at this incredible majestic architecture structure plus just the fact that people called it home and now there voices are gone like ASH. Someone needs to pay. I will never forget this year.
@@AntiquityEchoes I've read people saying it would cost a fortune to take out asbestos, or other unsuitable material ...
I can't understand this thinking, it's not as if there isn't other 100 year old buildings in the USA! The Allentown hospital had beautiful architecture and workmanship, was solid and would've made a wonderful college, or spa/resort. I've seen two very old buildings repurposed into apartments, one was a large old hospital in my home town in the UK, another was a Synagogue in BC, Canada. Both have been modernized inside but the architecture fully preserved, and have very happy residents living in such unique homes. I feel very sad to see a building as magnificent as the Allentown hosp. torn down. What a waste - and likely to be replaced by modern look-alike 'cubes' or high rises. Surely not a Walmart, a mall or similar, given todays market.
Thank you for the last glimpse of the hospital, I had been hoping it would be saved.
Glad you videoed this. It made me so sad I couldn’t even watch it all the way through. Heartbreaking indeed.
It was a tragedy 💔
I know there would have been some pain and suffering there over the building’s history, but it’s so sad to see it torn down. Once these buildings are gone, how will people remember that they ever existed? That the people who stayed there ever existed?
Exactly. You lose far more than bricks and timber when you tear down a building.
what an utterly sickening act on the part of Man.
It was gutwrenching to watch this beautiful well built piece of history being reduced to ruble. Made me really sad.
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I cannot believe all of this beautiful architecture has been destroyed 😭😭😭😭😭
you did such a beautiful job capturing this terrible moment, I have such an emotional bond with this place I started crying a bit haha well done
We understand how you felt, it broke our hearts to film.
Why you cry?
Your work deserves more attention. Well done.
Thanks for saying so.
Though this is depressing, I think it would be EXTREMELEY expensive to restore such a huge, ornate building making it almost not worth it to repair. I do agree that this is sad.
The cost of renovation and rehabilitation is a valid concern, but often the cost of demolition only costs marginally less than saving a building like Allentown. That said - This specific case is an extreme example of a place that truly shouldn't have been demolished. The campus was in superb condition, with heat and power up until just a couple months prior to demolition. The floor of the lobby was still polished as the building fell in upon it.
America has such huge land space tho, and the money towards the demolition could’ve gone towards preserving it and respecting it’s place sand history. Unlike many countries, America doesnt need the space so it’s such a shame many places like this are just destroyed for more shopping malls and housing. We already have those things, what we dont have are these buildings…
First Greystone, now Allentown.
How many more state hospitals have to be destroyed until we accept that they are a part of our history?
I'm just a wee bit irritated that we treat buildings of historical significance the same as yesterday's dirty diapers.
All the more terrible is that this hospital was cleared to sell the land, the state of Pennsylvania thought that the structure detracted from the property value.
@@AntiquityEchoes foolish short sightedness, the building was solid and had beautiful architecture, never to be seen again.
The Hudson River is next minus the useless administration building which is meaningless without the rest of the kirkbride
So sad to see that beautiful staircase being destroyed! It makes me sad. Such a beautifully built building. What so they can clear all that land and then build taupeville houses???
What a waste! What a shame! "Those who fail to study history are bound to repeat it".
If history keeps repeating we won't have any history left.
This is all too true! Historic places ought to be seen as not only a reminder to not repeat past mistakes, but to also relish and reflect on the breathtaking beauty of the eclectic, and borderline unique architecture of these buildings, which is sadly too often overlooked. If history ends up repeating itself somehow, then people may come to realize that actions like these are oftentimes the reasons why...
I can’t believe it’s been a year almost 🥺
It’s not fair
It was the last kirkbride built in the United States
It’s history is greater than any building they will build on its land,
It will forever be known as
Allentown State Hospital Grounds, nothing else
I can’t believe it’s been 3 years
Extremely sad because this place was on my bucket list of historical sites to visit one day. I should have just went when my gut told me to. Which also makes me realize I should really go visit other places because they are all probably going to meet this same fate.
Everything is temporary.
yet another great piece of history destroyed :(
this building wasn't even that damaged from being abandoned (thanks to great security)
this building had an opportunity to become a museum (even though its way too late for that ;w;)
Rip to this building!
It could have been anything, now it's forever nothing.
Ashes to ashes dust to dust. History gone in a blink of an eye.
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Not another one gone...
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ce n'est pas seulement un bâtiment que l'on détruit mais la mémoire de ceux qui ont été les patients de cette institution. En effaçant un bâtiment, on condamne le souvenirs de ces gens...c'est d'une tristesse. Derrière chaque façade de chaque édifice abandonné résonne encore les rires ou les pleurs des gens qui y ont transités, en les détruisant, on réduit à néant une portion de vie, une part de mémoire et l'impossibilité pour les jeunes générations d'accéder à un souvenir, parfois douloureux mais toujours bâtisseur.
We absolutely agree with you, and in fact what you say really covers the overarching theme of our work. Hopefully one day people will become wiser, and see these buildings for what they are and represent, not simply the value of the land they sit upon. Given how thoughtful your comment was, we ran it through a translator so that others may read it as well.
"It is not only a building that is being destroyed but the memory of those who were the patients of this institution. By erasing a building, we condemn the memories of these people ... it is sad. Behind each facade of each abandoned building still resonates the laughter or the tears of the people who have passed through it. By destroying them we reduce to nothing a portion of life, a part of memory, and the impossibility for the younger generations to access a memory, sometimes painful but always constructive." - Bernard Tonon
Vous mettez des mots sur mon ressenti !
I can still hear it crying out in pain
This makes me wont to cry I loved that state hospital it was…special…towards me I loved that building I’m so heartbroken
Many people feel as you do, ourselves included 💔
Not only do we destroy the planet we inhabit, we destroy our own history.
Those buildings could have other uses it's so sad to see them go.
The demolition was inexcusable.
The day Aliens land on Earth, we had better hope they are not even remotely similar to humans… I have no words for what was done to this incredible piece of history.
This is a beautiful video, so sad to watch. Thanks for taking the time to shoot this ❤️😭
Thank you for the kind words, in truth it was painful to film.
thanks for this
why didn’t they at least keep the main entrance building and somehow incorporate it with whatever upcoming project! i mean it’s more than just an asylum you know. it’s a piece of art! an iconic structure with great architecture! it’s part of Pennsylvania’s history. 🇺🇸 it’s gone now, and we can’t do anything about it i know, but i couldn’t stop myself from letting out a little frustration.
There's no excuse whatsoever for the city not retaining the central admin building at the very least.
@@AntiquityEchoes 😞
This made me so sad. Especially at the 1:22 time mark when the white "steeple" for lack of a better word, came down. I couldn't even watch the rest of it.
It was absolutely awful to film.
Nicely shot! loved the end bit
This makes me so sad.
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Damn now the ghosts don't have a home anymore
When someone asks " what happened to our Mental health in this country" show them this video! 😢 Our Everytime you see a mass shooting, remember this video . What a shame!!!!!
What a heartbreaking and true statement.
Very selfish of someone even wanting to demolish it
Beauty is slowly but surely being erased.. with the certainty that nothing of this quality will ever be built like this in the near future.
Or ever again when you consider that a lot of the timbers used in there old buildings are from old-growth trees, which are long gone as a construction material 💔
Didn't here Trump or Biden talking about protecting old buildings like this sad very sad. A bill should be signed called the abandoned building act bill which would force these buildings to be protected and preserved.
Chris Christie wouldn't even consider saving Greystone.
😧they actually did it
I can’t believe they actually did that
What has this world become
We are not exaggerating when we say that the demolition of the Allentown State Hospital is a travesty that will be felt for generations.
@@AntiquityEchoes I just recently got into liking these buildings and this is the only time I’ve showed emotion to something like this
Due to my Aspergers I don’t show and sympathy or empathy
But this made me really sad almost enough to cry but again I can’t cry unless I’m being screamed at
I'm thinking about going there is it still there or all gone ?
Sorry to say, but it's just a field at this point.
@@AntiquityEchoes thanks for the info
What about the deceased who were buried on that property?
This horrified me 😥
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Guys I have bad news
Kings park Psychiatric center building 93 may be next
We have to act fast in that one
We have to save building 93
0:58 not the handrails 😭😰
Glad you took note of that. How awful to see all the items that should have been salvaged and reused, destroyed, and laid into the mud.
1:44 to 1:47 you can see someone moving around inside thru the window...
pourquoi? pour qui? pour faire quoi?
Very disappointed in their decision to demolish.
We have yet to find someone who genuinely supports the decision. Such a waste.
We must save history
Absolutly agree, sadly it always seems to be an uphill battle.
I just subbed to your channel and you have many interesting videos I can't wait to see. Hermicidal J from xplorer llttf
My team ( xplorer llttf) was lucky enough to get in there before they demolished it I wonder if they salvaged all the marble in the main building it was top to bottom it was actually painful watching the tower and building go down great video so sad it's gone ck us out at xplorerllttf.com for all of our videos and photos thanks
We too filmed the hospital prior to abatement and demolition, you can see it here - bit.ly/ASH_Video
That said, very little salvage was conducted on this place, which is frankly inexcusable considering it didn't even need to come down in the first place. The auditorium light fixtures, lobby stained glass, some lower level ironwork, and columns from the chapel are all that we are aware of being saved. Everything else went down with the building.
@@AntiquityEchoes I will watch your video its mindblowing that stuff wasn't saved or was it ? Probably end up in an executives home somewhere
@@AntiquityEchoes I'm going to suscribe to your channel too for a little more support thanks HJ ( xplorer llttf)
noooo they really destroyed it
😭
прошлое покоится вечно. но тем не менее люди неустанно своими действиями помещают сами себя в "дампы забвения" . грустно
We had to run this through Google Translate, but we think we understand what you're saying and agree. When you demolish a building you also demolish a piece of the past you'll never get back.
Its ornaments could have been saved and used for something else
What a shame the structure was in perfect condition all it needed was paint
Most of it didn't even need that. The building went down with polished floors.
What a waste and shame
State of Pennsylvania is trying to cover up the past.
I really wish that this one could be recyclable by using Brick by Brick copper by copper wire by wire metal to Meadowood by would be safe and could be like saving not to be destroyed Water waste material and it is still good from the past was first location to the prison was built and many years in the future that got discovered here from outside and inside
And just like that history is gone forever do to greedy pigs. This building could have been saved . But money talks history walks. Nicely done
The demolition of Allentown is a universal message of caution. This can happen in any city across the nation if proper oversight is not given.
@@AntiquityEchoes people wanted to buy it to reserve it, and they said no
@@darkechoproductionsllc9559.. how shameful. I saw citizens protesting the hospital from demolition, obviously they were ignored.
@@margaretr5701 unfortunately that means nothing when greed kicks in. History walks, someone had the money to by Greystone and turn back to normal the governor said nope bye bye.
@@darkechoproductionsllc9559 Infuriating and in my opinion, unforgivable. I'm originally from England where old buildings are usually saved, although sad to say, parking lots have taken over some precious real estate.
But the hospital wasn't crowding anyone out, lots of room in Pennsylvania, which I can only hope won't eventually get eaten up by greedy developers.
I don't know how the gvmnt got away with ignoring protestors and turning down a good offer.
😞😞😞😞
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Extremely narcissistic 😔
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The could have saved the front of the building :_(
They could have saved the ENTIRE building. Allentown tore this place down while dealing with the worst homelessness problem the city has ever faced. This building would have made for an ideal housing/rehab facility.
@@AntiquityEchoes yes, i totally agree, High Royds Asylum in England was restored and converted to apartments. It's an old building and many parts were in worse shape than this hospital.
I didn’t even get to go, only 15 minuets from my house…now nothing but grass, the lives lost there will now never rest…
Enjoy the open space, it will likely be blighted by cheaply constructed residential or commercial units in due time.