I Visited a Hospital and I Wasn't Even Sick

From Dave Brigham:

From the earliest days of this blog, I dreamt of exploring Medfield State Hospital. Scanning various urbex blogs I followed, I saw loads of photos of the former insane asylum, which overlooks the Charles River just north of Route 27 in Medfield, Mass. I assumed that in order to capture my own images, I would need to trespass, which isn't something I typically do.

So when I finally found the opportunity to check it out, I was expecting to make photos from behind fences of buildings that were falling apart after standing for more than 125 years. I was pleasantly surprised to find a rather bucolic site where I could roam freely alongside families and other photographers and couples on intimate strolls.

I've written before about former state mental hospitals located in Waltham, Mass. (see March 20, 2017, "Brigham in Waltham, Part III" and August 23, 2010, "You Don't Have to Be Crazy to Live Here, But It Helps"). I have not written about the infamous Fernald School, which is also located in Waltham. Whenever I would drive by the site, I spied security cars, and just kept going.

Medfield State Hospital was established in 1892 as the Medfield Insane Asylum, and was the first Massachusetts facility built specifically for long-term, high-need chronic patients, according to MACRIS. "The unique college-like campus is considered to be one of the finest works of [architect William Pitt] Wentworth's career," per MACRIS. "The campus was arranged in a quadrangle with an administration building and wards for 'quiet' patients at its head; wards for 'untidy, excited and epilectic (sic) patients' around its perimeter; infirmary and industrial buildings at its corner; and a chapel, laundry, kitchen/dining facility, powerhouse and carpenter's shop at its center."

I was completely charmed by the buildings, the campus, the poetry scattered across buildings, the quad where events take place, the beautiful church surrounded by flowers, and so much more. The Town of Medfield purchased 128 acres of the original 296-acre site in 2014. I will discuss this more below.

As time wore on, the campus grew in both population and number of buildings. Structures added to the original campus included a farm house for a farmer and 15-20 patients; an industrial building for making clothes, ironwork, upholstery and mattresses; a nurse's residence and school; a hospital for tubercular patients; wood-frame cottages for patients and employees alike; and a superintendent's house.

According to Wikipedia, "At its height the complex included 58 buildings, on a property of some 1.4 sq mi., and a capacity of 2,200 patients. It raised its own livestock and produce, and generated its own heat, light and power. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994, the property was closed in April 2003 and the buildings shuttered."

(The most modern structure on the site is this water tower.)

There is a large and beautiful mural on the former mechanical building.

Painted by artist Cedric "Vise1" Douglas, the work of art features a girl playing a violin. Douglas said the work was inspired by the former hospital's history of including music as part of its therapy, according to this Wicked Local article.

The art also complements the mission of the Bellforge Arts Center, which presents live music, theater, dance, health and wellness programs and activities for children on the Medfield State campus. After the town purchased the property, there was a four-year period of "extensive public input," according to the arts center's web site. "[A] master plan was completed in 2018, and in 2020 the Bellforge Arts Center secured a 99-year lease with the town on two signature buildings at the core of the campus."

One of those buildings is the former hospital infirmary, which still needs to be renovated; the other, seen below, is the lovely chapel, which looks great but evidently needs work. Eventually, there will be a glass annex connecting the pair.

In addition to the arts and culture spaces, the town's long-term plan for the site is expected to result in 334 new apartments, 25% of which will be affordable, according to the town's web site. Additionally, the town plans to maintain open space on the property and preserve the historic buildings, "netting an estimated $700,000 annually in additional tax revenue for the town."

I'm so happy that my initial expectations about Medfield State Hospital were blown out of the water. Where I thought I'd find dilapidated buildings and barriers to entry, I instead was met with open access and joyful strollers (of course, I imagine that when I first became aware of this place all those years ago, it may very well have been more decrepit and blocked off). I look forward to following the progress as this site becomes a larger part of the Medfield community.

Franklin Park Is Ruin-ed

From Dave Brigham:

Like Ben Franklin with the kite, gettin' over with the key, I was shocked into action when I realized how little I knew about the jewel of Boston's park system, the largest component of Frederick Law Olmsted's Emerald Necklace: Franklin Park.

In May of this year, I wrote about the wonderful remnants of a Franklin Park superintendent's office (see May 11, 2024, "Learning About Boston's Schoolmaster Hill"), as well as the stadium at the park (see May 18, 2024, "Stadiium Tour in Franklin Park"). Near the end of 2019, I posted about the Franklin Park Zoo's old bear dens (see December 18, 2019, "Having a Bear of a Time at the Zoo").

Still, I realized after those most recent adventures just how much more there is to the park. So I explored further. Here's what I found.

I started my tour at the Ellicott Arch and adjacent 99 Steps.

(The lower end of 99 Steps, located in the southwestern corner of the park, just off Circuit Drive.)

(Ellicott Arch, which passes under Circuit Drive.)

(Inside the arch's tunnel.)

As mentioned above, this expanse was designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. It is his nephew and adopted son, however, who gets credit for designing the Ellicott Arch. John Charles Olmsted and his brother, Frederick, Jr., took over their father's firm after the elder man retired. The arch, constructed of Roxbury puddingstone taken from the area, was completed in 1899. The 99 Steps, which are made of the same stone, wind up into the wooded area of the park known as the Wilderness.

I've been unable to find out for whom the arch is named.

Mid-way up (or down, I suppose) the steps is a plaque detailing things that were illegal when the park first opened (and, presumably, today).

"It is against the law for anyone when in the park...to make outcries, orations, or harangues...play hand-organs...use vile, profane, or threatening language..." the sign says in part.

Not too far away from these architectural beauties is a more rough-hewn work of art, albeit one that's had a tough time of things in recent years.

Located near a swampy area below some cliffs, the Wizard of Franklin Park is a shadow of its former self, from what I understand. In late May 2021, Universal Hub ran an article about the rebirth of the Wizard: "Earlier this month, as people were beginning to notice fires being set in Franklin Park, whether intentionally or through cigarette carelessness, a Jamaica Plain resident discovered that among the victims was the tree wizard that had long sat in the hollow of a tree in the park's Wilderness area off Forest Hills Street - not just set on fire, but hacked up as well."

Pardon my French, but what the fuck is wrong with people? Who sets fires in a park as glorious as Franklin Park? And who attacks a harmless wizard painted on a tree?

The article continues: "Alex Cook, who knows something about outdoor art, went out a few days ago and rebuilt and repainted the tree wizard." So that was more than three years ago. When I visited in March of this year, the tree looked like it had perhaps been set ablaze again.

While I knew about the Wizard, the arch and 99 steps from advanced research, I wasn't aware of other sites of interest I would come across.

These stone walls are located in the northeast section of the aforementioned Wilderness area, near what are called the Valley Gates. According to this excellent blog post, this area was to be known as The Ante Park, a section "[s]eparating the two halves [of the park], putting a physical and psychological barrier between the natural enjoyment and the community uses of the park."

The natural enjoyment section included the Wilderness and the Country Park, the latter of which is now Franklin Park Golf Course. The community-oriented part was the Greeting (now the Franklin Park Zoo) and the Playstead, home of White Stadiium and other ruins that I will discuss below. The wide lane you see in the first photo above was once known as Glen Lane, a road running through the Valley Gates from Washington Street to Blue Hill Avenue, according to the blog.

Like me, the blog's author was mystified as to the original purpose of the stone walls. I highly recommend reading the entire post, but here's a summary of what the writer found out: he thought at first maybe these were remnants from the zoo, but learned quickly that that wasn't a good guess. He next considered it was an area for park visitors to keep their horses. Nope. Finally, after more intense map reviewing, "I saw that the rocky alcove existed in 1884! [On the map] the space is clearly marked right where I saw it....Which means that it was not part of the Franklin Park plan, but a remnant of some pre-Park farm or home."

Nice detective work!

OK, let's move on to the ruins near White Stadium.

This is what's left of the Overlook, "an 800-foot-long viewing platform elevated above The Playstead," according to this Boston Preservation blog post. "There was a shelter heavily designed by Olmsted on top of the The Overlook. The City allowed it to fall into disrepair and a fire took the building. It is now only a ruin today."

The Overlook was a place for people to gather and watch sports, ceremonies and other exhibitions taking place below, in the Playstead. Judging by the ruins, it was quite a structure.

(Remnant of a water fountain near the Overlook.)

The last two features I want to highlight are two statues at the Playstead entrance to the zoo. I've walked past these works of art many times over the years, but hadn't really appreciated them.

You are likely familiar with the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Well, the same artist who sculpted the massive seated figure of our nation's 16th president, Daniel Chester "D.C." French, created the works outside the zoo. The one above is known as Labor; it is "fifteen feet high and consists of a seated Labor in leather apron with his right arm on an anvil which also protects a mother cradling her baby," according to this Jamaica Plain Historical Society blog post. "At his right is the rhythmic figure representing Arts."

The statue's full name is Labor Supporting the Arts and Domestic Life.

Labor and its partner, Science (The Forces of Steam and Electricity Subdued and Controlled by Science) (seen below), were created in the late 18th century for the former Boston Post Office and Subtreasury Building. "[T]he figure Science is a seated woman with her foot resting on a closed volume, representing her concealed secrets," per the historical society blog post. "Crouching at her feet is a gigantic slave with his hands chained to a steam locomotive wheel. Standing at her right is an energetic young man clutching a thunderbolt as the Spirit of Electricity, his youth symbolizing the emerging potential of the new resource."

Erected in 1885, the statues were situated approxiately 100 feet above Congress Street flanking a two-story entry arch. "They were among [the] largest sculptures in the city; they joined the Soldiers and Sailors monument on the Boston Common...the Charlestown Soldiers and Sailors monument...and the George Washington monument at the Public Garden," according to the blog post.

As amazing as the statues are, and as beautiful as the post office building was, the pairing would not last. "The Pubic Buildings Act of 1926 authorized $165 million for new federal buildings and the city of Boston applied for and received an appropriation to replace the 1885 Post Office and Subtreasury Building," the historical society continues. "By the end of December, 1929, the massive city block-long building had been razed."

The statues were removed from the building before its demolition, and offered to the City of Boston. On September 17, 1930, the statues, with new granite pedestals, were revealed to the public at the zoo as part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of Boston's founding. The site where the statues originally stood is now the John W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse Building, located in the heart of Boston's Post Office Square.

I strongly encourage my readers to explore Franklin Park. There is still plenty of the site that I haven't checked out; I hope to return soon.

Is There Hope for an Old Diner in Salisbury, Mass.?

From Mick Melvin:

My wife, Amy, and I were going to a wedding in Amesbury, Mass., and came across Pat's Diner in neighborhing Salisbury. After doing a little research, I found out that it was a great place to stop. The owner, Patricia Poulakos Archambault, was the beloved owner of Pat's Diner. She was proud of her Greek heritage and loved serving her Greek specialties.

From Wikipedia: "The diner was built in 1950 as #824 by the Worcester Lunch Car Company, as a custom job for James and Ann Evans. They had opened their first diner in Haverhill, also called Ann's Diner, in 1948, and moved it to the present site later that year. The business was successful enough that they ordered the present diner as a replacement. It was specifically designed to accommodate a separate dining room, and was opened in April 1950. The Evanses owned the business until 1960, after which it went through a succession of owners. From 1976 to 1987 it was owned by Norman Brockelbank and known as Norm's Place. The diner was closed between 1997 and 1999. In 1999 it was acquired by...Archambault, who restored it and reopened it...."

The diner struggled through the pandemic, and when Pat passed away in 2021, the diner closed.

From reading online comments about Pat's Diner, it was a great place to eat and Pat treated her customers like family. It would have been a great place to experience.

Not sure whether the diner can be saved or if it will be demolished.

Floating Through Fall River, Part III*

From Dave Brigham:

* No actual floating was undertaken in pursuit of this and other posts about Fall River.

Rather than The Backside of America, I could easily have called this blog Ghosts of Times Past or Relics of Places Located Largely in the Eastern Third of Massachusetts (and Sometimes Elsewhere). I am drawn to the old mill towns of New England, and sometimes feel as though I spend too much time hunting down the old, the forgotten, the rusty, the broken-down.

But I find beauty everywhere I explore, in the patina, the hidden history, the faded glory, the hope, the rebirth. I try to find places that people overlook, buildings with stories to tell, sites that contrast original, anachronistic uses with new ways of thinking about the world. I admire the craftsmanship of the buildings, the boldness of chiseling a company or a person's name into the facade. I think of the talent that went into creating a painted advertisement on the side of a building, that 100 years later is still speaking, albeit in fading whispers, to passersby.

I love diners, old movie theaters and kitsch-filled bowling alleys, and I often research these types of places before exploring a given town or city. They make for great photography subjects, and they make me nostalgic for the times I spent in similar places when I was growing up in Connecticut in the 1970s and '80s.

Wow...what a long introduction to the third and final installment in my series about Fall River, Mass. (for the first two, check out this link and this one, too). This one spans some geographic distance, and featues several great old buildings in Fall River's downtown, among other sites.

Let's start at 1144 Pleasant Street, the former American Bakery Company building.

Built in 1934, this building appeared during my visit in February of this year to have been recently fixed up, with new windows at the very least. I believe the place was empty, although a contractor named True Brother, Inc., is listed at that address currently. As for American Bakery, I think it was a Missouri-based conglomerate that formed around the turn of last century.

Heading south-southeast along Pleasant Street, I felt obligated to chronicle another storefront church.

Iglesia Pentecostal Luz en Medio de Tinieblas (Pentecostal Church Light in the Midst of Darkness) is located in the Greany Building, which dates to 1891. Situated in the heart of the neighborhood known to old-timers as The Flint, the Greany Building has always contained a mix of ground-floor retail/business and upper-floor apartments.

At my furthest southeast point of this tour, I reached a diner that looks pretty good on the outside - with a rooftop display that will have sign enthusiasts hooting with pleasure - but one that unfortunately has been closed for some time.

Located on a triangular lot where Pleasant Street crosses Eastern Avenue, C.C.'s Nite Owl Diner is a circa-1956 DeRaffele Manufacturing model that replaced the truck-mounted Worcester Lunch Car No. 786, according to this Fall River Reporter article.

The Fall River landmark has been closed for years, but it may get reheated and brought back to life. "Antone Dias, representing owner Joseph Nasrallah, went in front of the Historical Commission Tuesday stating that Nasrallah is looking to sell or renovate the former Nite Owl Restaurant and get it on the Fall River Register as a significant and historic place before hopefully getting on the National Register," according to a March 20, 2024, Fall River Reporter article.

Fingers crossed.

Now we're heading back toward downtown. At the corner of Bedford and High streets is a former police station, the likes of which I haven't seen in this condition on my backside adventures.

Vacated in 1997, the building was acquired for $1.28 million in 2008, according to this Wicked Local article. The station was built in 1915; I'm assuming at some point it will be demolished and something shiny as a police badge will rise in its place.

Just before Bedford Street hits South Main Street, I spied a lovely old bank building.

Built in 1929, the Fall River Cooperative Bank rose the year after a devastating fire destroyed many buildings in the downtown area. MACRIS calls this building a "good example of the newly emerging Art Deco style," with "characteristic flat wall surfaces and low relief ornamentation." As you can see, this beauty is currently occupied by United Way of Greater Fall River.

On the corner of Bedford and North Main streets is the Classical Revival Burke Building.

Built in 1928, the building is currently home to two restaurants: breakfast joint Sheri's Place, and Dunny's BBQ.

A few doors down, heading north on North Main Street, is The Globe Building.

Dating to 1906, this Classical Revival building was originally home to Fall River Daily Globe Publishing Company. Subsequently, it housed Fall River Herald News Publishing. Currently, the site is occupied by a variety of small businesses.

Next is a much older building, the Italianate Old Red Bank, aka Fall River Savings Bank Building.

Built in 1869, the bank has a "boldly detailed facade with round-arched windows, cornice lintels, and name panel within the pediment" and "is typical of the best institutional building of its period," per MACRIS. The current tenant is a branch of Santander Bank.

Immediately to the north of Old Red Bank is the former Fall River Gas Works Company building.

Built in 1911, this Renaissance Revival building "has perhaps the best-articulated and best-preserved classical revival facade," in the downtown area, according to MACRIS. It is currently occupied by RDA Insurance, which traces its roots to 1908.

Across a parking lot is 177 North Main Street, aka the Peirce Building.

I haven't found out much about this place, other than it was built around 1925 and is currently owned by the Fall River Community Housing Resource Board.

Continuing on the east side of North Main Street, I was happy to see a beautiful church break up the row of commercial buildings.

Completed in 1954 after years of planning and fundraising, the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church was built in the Byzantine basilica style, per MACRIS.

Across North Main Street is the Quequechan Club.

Quequechan -- named for the nearby river -- was chartered in 1894 as a gentlemen's club, and members renovated an existing home for their playhouse. The twenty-five "prominent residents who formed the club represented the city's business and professional elite and included six chief executives of mills, six men otherwise engaged in the textile industry, three investment brokers, two lawyers, one physician and other community leaders," per MACRIS. The club didn't welcome unescorted women into the dining room until the 1970s, per Wikipedia.

The club, as you can imagine, was one of Fall River's most prestigious social clubs for more than 100 years. The club closed in 2012, but according to Wikipedia, the "club remains private and allows members to smoke inside the pub. The club has been reported to be haunted, and mediums and ghost hunters have visited the premises."

Zoinks!

Turning south along the west side of North Main (got that?), I had to make a photo of the Masonic Temple.

The Classical Revival building dates to 1922. A short walk south is the Durfee Block, which dates to 1887.

I like the suspended roof over the entryway, which I'm guessing used to be fancier. "The building was erected in 1887 for the B.M.C..Durfee Trust Co. (originally the B.M.C. Durfee & Co.), chartered in 1870," according to MACRIS. "This firm was organized by John S. Brayton and his sister, Mary Brayton Young, the remarried widow of Fall River Iron Works founder Major Bradford Durfee. The bank was named for their son, B.M.C. Durfee, who was never involved in its operations. Historically, the bank was closely allied to the textile industry in financing the importation of cotton for thriving mills."

I was quite charmed by the ivy-covered building at 44-46 North Main Street.

This small Neoclassical building dates to 1915. I haven't found out much about its history, but MACRIS provides some architectural detail: "whiite glazed brick, cast stone trim...ground floor front is nearly original. There are slender corner columns with spiral neckbanding and Art Nouveau-inspired caps. Metal lintel, opaque glass transom." A separate MACRIS file dates this building to 1928. You choose....

Along South Main Street I got caught up in a conversation with a very nice but extremely talkative woman about what I was doing. I missed a few cool buildings as I tried to get ahead of her, but I didn't miss the Waldorf Building.

Built in 1922, it is "in harmony with the post-1916-fire character of the South Main Street shopping district," according to MACRIS. While the building was known at some point as the Nobby Building, it was built specifically for something called the Waldorf System, Inc.

So what is this system that echoes, but has no relation to, the Waldorf-Astoria? "Waldorf System, Inc., is a somewhat different chain of restaurants. Its 83 cafeterias, drive-ins and pancake houses in eight states lean heavily on self-service eateries in poor locations, offer such dishes as hash and an egg for 65¢," according to this May 21, 1965 Time magazine article. The company merged with a competitor named Restaurant Associates. That company still exists, and functions as an "on-site dining management company."

That's all pretty cool. I've never come across a former self-service cafeteria before.

My final stop in Fall River was Rock-n-Roll Avenue.

Located on Rodman Street, PearTree Studios is obviously operated by a Beatles fan, as evidenced by the tribute to the band's Abbey Road album cover seen below.

(Likenesses of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr outside the studio. George and John are also featured, of course.)

Whereas the Fab Four had/have Apple Corps. as their corporate entity, the folks behind this studio went with a different fruit. Artists that have recorded at PearTree include The Buggies, Sionide and The Craft.

I hope to return to Fall River soon to check out other parts of the city.