The place really was awful. There's a good book titled "The Willowbrook Wars" by David and Sheila Rothman published in 1984 that tells the story of Willowbrook in detail and outlines the effort to remove developmentally disabled people from the terrible warehouse-type mental institutions and into the community in New York State. Great read. It's available on Amazon and at some libraries.
The thing that struck me about Seabrook and the NY Farm Colony when I snuck in and poked around was how so many things were left intact at the hospital. Glasses and tableware left out, an open book of piano music still on the piano. That was the creepiest part. Granted, that was 20ish years ago and I wonder if it's still like that.
That does sound creepy! When I visited North Brother Island it felt a lot like that. I think the Farm Colony side of the whole compound has been pretty picked over, but I imagine the Sea View side, where I didn't venture, probably has at least some of those stopped in time tableaus left.
Well done, as always, Rob. As a kid, I used to ride the R110 bus to Sea View Hospital and back. To a seven-year-old boy, that entire campus was creepy as heck (and yes, I rode city buses by myself at seven...times were different then!) Meanwhile, my Dad worked as a security guard at the old Willowbrook School after the state partially closed it in the late 1970s. As a teen, I really hated visiting him at work. The place had a very well deserved bad reputation and was even creepier when it was mostly empty by 1980. Fortunately, CUNY took over the site, knocked down many of the buildings, renovated others and built a gorgeous new campus for the College of Staten Island. It's the largest college campus in NYC at over 200 acres and looks more like a New England university than an urban college campus.
Thanks Eddie! Willowbrook sounds like on of those places where the reality is worse than the stories about it. What were your dad's experiences working there? He must have been there when two of the employees went missing. I can't imagine. CSI does look like a nice campus. I wonder how many students there know about the site's past.
Dad didn't work there very long, maybe six months or so in 1980. He said it was just lonely and creepy as the campus was almost empty when the state moved most of the patients into community housing or to other institutions. I got a distinct creepy vibe the few times I visited him at work. Entering the CSI campus today, as nice as it is, still gives me the willies. Doubt many of the students today know Willowbrook's past. Over the last 40 years, Staten Islanders have been fine just forgetting the whole thing. Can't say I blame them.
From my vantage point, it's entirely possible that Cropsey may have been the inspiration for some of the serial killer movie stars of the 1980s (particularly Freddy Krueger).
Yes! The Burning was originally going to be called the Cropsey Maniac, and another movie that came out right around the same time, Madman, was also based on the Cropsey legend. I think it inspired a lot of different slasher flicks
Try process church of the final judgment. A website I just pulled up while sitting in an actual church by the way. not sure how that’s gonna work out for me in the long run.
Thank you! Your photos are great and your research is thorough. I love learning about the borough I live in. 😃
Thanks Dana!
Spooky! It's so hard to believe the incomprehensible horror of care centers for the disabled even just a few decades ago.
The place really was awful. There's a good book titled "The Willowbrook Wars" by David and Sheila Rothman published in 1984 that tells the story of Willowbrook in detail and outlines the effort to remove developmentally disabled people from the terrible warehouse-type mental institutions and into the community in New York State. Great read. It's available on Amazon and at some libraries.
Truly. The footage from the Geraldo expose is horrific.
The thing that struck me about Seabrook and the NY Farm Colony when I snuck in and poked around was how so many things were left intact at the hospital. Glasses and tableware left out, an open book of piano music still on the piano. That was the creepiest part. Granted, that was 20ish years ago and I wonder if it's still like that.
That does sound creepy! When I visited North Brother Island it felt a lot like that. I think the Farm Colony side of the whole compound has been pretty picked over, but I imagine the Sea View side, where I didn't venture, probably has at least some of those stopped in time tableaus left.
Well done, as always, Rob. As a kid, I used to ride the R110 bus to Sea View Hospital and back. To a seven-year-old boy, that entire campus was creepy as heck (and yes, I rode city buses by myself at seven...times were different then!) Meanwhile, my Dad worked as a security guard at the old Willowbrook School after the state partially closed it in the late 1970s. As a teen, I really hated visiting him at work. The place had a very well deserved bad reputation and was even creepier when it was mostly empty by 1980. Fortunately, CUNY took over the site, knocked down many of the buildings, renovated others and built a gorgeous new campus for the College of Staten Island. It's the largest college campus in NYC at over 200 acres and looks more like a New England university than an urban college campus.
Thanks Eddie! Willowbrook sounds like on of those places where the reality is worse than the stories about it. What were your dad's experiences working there? He must have been there when two of the employees went missing. I can't imagine. CSI does look like a nice campus. I wonder how many students there know about the site's past.
Dad didn't work there very long, maybe six months or so in 1980. He said it was just lonely and creepy as the campus was almost empty when the state moved most of the patients into community housing or to other institutions. I got a distinct creepy vibe the few times I visited him at work. Entering the CSI campus today, as nice as it is, still gives me the willies. Doubt many of the students today know Willowbrook's past. Over the last 40 years, Staten Islanders have been fine just forgetting the whole thing. Can't say I blame them.
From my vantage point, it's entirely possible that Cropsey may have been the inspiration for some of the serial killer movie stars of the 1980s (particularly Freddy Krueger).
Yes! The Burning was originally going to be called the Cropsey Maniac, and another movie that came out right around the same time, Madman, was also based on the Cropsey legend. I think it inspired a lot of different slasher flicks
This week’s Substack is exactly why you are one of my 2 favorite authors. Excellent work on your research and photographs. Thank you.
Thank you so much Charlotte! Now I’m
Curious who the other one is!
Trying to find out more about the Satanic Church of the Process but no luck!
Try process church of the final judgment. A website I just pulled up while sitting in an actual church by the way. not sure how that’s gonna work out for me in the long run.
Ok when it comes to weird houses Willowbrook beats Mill Basin any day!
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