Hudson River State Hospital is to New York as Centralia is to Pennsylvania; a wasteland left to burn by the system which babysits it. Whether it be an inferno deemed ignited by "lightning" or a blaze sparked from spinning steel wool started by Stupid Urbex Kids for instant Instagram fame. The gothic Kirkbride edifice and its companion buildings are merely stacked kindling in a overgrown fire pit in the middle of the woods surrounded by tall weeds, littered with empty beer bottles and the occasional condom wrapper from parties past and present. The vast and ruinous Hudson River State Hospital property stands as a testament to a failed system of government and politics, a system that encapsulates and dictates us all. The hollow, burnt-out wards charred by continuous fires and the graffiti plastered walls within hundred year old buildings highlight an institution built by a system which has now completely failed the very monuments it once produced. The positive news is that Hudson no longer belongs to this system but rather now to the people who "break laws" to experience what this system has failed and left to ruins; unfortunately this isn't much of an advantageous outcome either.
Hudson burns because it is free game to burn, Hudson is a ruin because no one cares. Had the local, state, or even federal government cared about this architectural treasure within our own backyard, measures would have been taken to truly protect or save it. Sure buildings were boarded up and entrances welded from time to time. Sure, security and cops patrolled the property with their eyes mostly closed. Yet all of this is merely security theater, an illusion at best to paint the idea that someone cares. Zoning laws and permits held up in limbo for years for no good reason other than laziness combined with lackluster security measures, and an all out mindset of apathy exhibited by those in power in regard to the buildings and mental health in general, truly let Hudson fall into ruins. A massive fire way back in 2007 gutted most of the Kirkbride building and for the better part of a decade following that initial fire the campus sat abandoned and continued to rot, much to my and many other's amusement however, for the grounds became a favorite playground to romp for all too many.
However, for the City of Poughkeepsie's sake, the failure of their local government and elected officials cost us all Hudson. A place built for the public to better the public ultimately became a wasteland that could only be enjoyed by those willing to take the risks necessary to go. While it certainly irks me to learn of the most recent fire consuming the Administration Building at Hudson, it also certainly doesn't surprise me. And because of that, I don't blame the vandals, the urban explorers, the scrappers, the Stupid Urbex Kids, the preservationists, the trespassers or whatever name you want to give to those of us who experienced the downfall of Hudson for whatever selfish or altruistic reasons we may have exhibited. Instead, I blame the system, a system which has not only failed Hudson, but has failed all of us. It'll be interesting to see what becomes of the campus. But money tends to fuel failure and greed, so unless the system changes, Hudson will continue to burn and to be used and abused until it becomes paved over by the next greedy idea to rake in money. Yet if it weren't for the failure of the system perhaps we wouldn't have been able to experience Hudson River State Hospital as a complete free-for-all ruin either...
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