The Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens was founded in 1912 as the Farm Colony of Brooklyn State Hospital, and was deinstitutionalized between the 1960s and 1980s. At its height, it housed more than 7,000 patients; nowadays, there are only a few hundred patients (in outpatient treatment centers). And as a result, several parts of the hospital have become abandoned—and photographer Hannah Frishberg recently broke inside to check it out: "Home to a single squatter who's clearly in it for the long-haul, the place has been overtaken by pigeon shit. It's one of those spots in New York City where you can't believe you're still in New York City."
You can read a classic NY Times story all about the abuse at the hospital here, and you can check out more photos of the abandoned ward here. You can also check out more of Frishberg's photos of an abandoned diner on the West Side Highway and the landmark Williamsburgh Savings Bank.
And here's an article she wrote about Creedmoor. Frishberg adds that if you go you should "be sure to check out the Living Museum on the campus of the Creedmoor Hospital—it's both a beautiful enterprise and a righteous concept."
