Essex County Hospital Center 35mm Slides

Posted: Saturday January 15, 2011

The following photographs were produced from scans of 35mm slides found within the Essex County Hospital Center. Unfortunately the majority of the slides were filthy and any attempt to remove the debris just led to destruction of the fragile film. As a result I decided to scan the slides as found, without any post processing or touch up.


Double lane bowling alley located in the recreation building. Today the bowling alley is in shambles, covered by mold and graffiti.


Patients conversing in one of the many day rooms located inside the main hospital complex. Pinned on the tac-board in the background are various art pieces created by the patients. Some examples of the artwork can be found at this link.


A washed-out slide detailing patient life and activity. Notice the two women(?) in the background who appear to be dancing? Judging by the red, white, and blue colored hats worn by the two patients to the left and right of the dancing women, I'd say it appears to be some type of Fourth of July picnic celebration.


I have no idea who this gentleman is or even if he was a patient, however he does appear again in the tug o' war slide just below.


A band playing tunes inside one of various wards. During one of my explorations into the hospital I was able to locate a room labeled "band room", however it was void of belongings except for a few music stands. Whether the band pictured in the slide above is of the Essex County Hospital Band I can't be sure of.


A game of tug o' war being played in the lawn adjacent the recreation building. The young man with the white cap appears to have a blue modeling ballon in his mouth.


The dust covering this slide makes it difficult to decipher what exactly the two pictured within are holding. To me it looks like corn on the cob.


The wooded area surrounding the Essex County Hospital Center is a publicly maintained hiking reservation. It is quite possible that the above slide was taken within that reservation, but I have no solid evidence to prove that for sure. My speculation is that patients were led on hikes as a form of therapy.


One of the wards decorated for Halloween. Perhaps it was a set for some type of patient performance?

[Continue on to Part 2 or Part 3.]

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